For 

FP^TiCE 

AKD  THE 

FAlTTi 


ALFRED 

EVGENE 

CASALIS 


^ASÛEÙ^  \ 


Columbia  ^inibersiitp 

mtljtCitpofjSttogorfe 


LIBRARY 


GIVEN    BY 


GIFT  OF 
H.  W.  WILSON 


FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 


ALFRED  EUGENE  CASALiS. 


FOR   FRANCE 
AND  THE  FAITH 

Letters  of  Alfred  Eugène  Casalis 


Translated  by 
WARREN  EDWIN  BRISTOL 


124  East  28th  Street,  New  York 
1917 


GIFT  OF 

H.  W.  WILSON 

MAR  2  2  1929 


Copyright,  1917,  by 
Warren  Edwin  Bristol 


r 


f" 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  Before  the  Call i 

IL  At  the  Ba^acks 9 

III.  At  the  Front 47 

IV.  On  the  Field  of  Honor      ...   93 


INTRODUCTION 

In  the  vast  literature  associated  with  the 
War,  some  of  the  pages  of  most  priceless  value 
are  those  which  reveal  the  attitude  of  mind 
and  heart  of  young  men  seeking  to  bring  to 
bear  their  religious  principles  and  faith  upon 
the  new  and  searching  tests  of  the  moral  and 
physical  battlefield  of  modem  warfare  —  tests 
which  try  men's  souls  by  fire. 

These  letters  of  the  noble  French  soldier 
have  served  to  preserve  the  ideals  and 
strengthen  the  faith  of  young  men  in  the  army 
of  France.  The  English  edition  has  helped 
many  a  soldier  of  Britain  to  live  his  life  and  to 
fight  his  battle  on  the  higher  levels,  and,  if 
need  be,  to  die  a  truly  triumphant  death.  We 
welcome  this  American  edition.  May  these 
simple  records  of  self-revelation,  self-disci- 
pline, and  self-devotion  help  American  young 
men  likewise  to  stand  fast  in  the  faith,  to  quit 
themselves  like  men,  and  to  be  strong. 

John  R.  Mott. 

September  i,  1917. 


FOREWORD 

"  They  loved  not  their  lives  unto  tUe  'death.'' 
—  Revelation  12:  11. 

This  is  not  a  biography.  It  is  only  a  mosaic 
of  fragments  of  letters  written  to  his  relatives 
and  intimate  friends  from  barrack-rooms  and 
the  front  by  a  very  young  soldier  who  fell  on 
the  field  of  honor  at  nineteen  years  of  age.  We 
had  gathered  them  and  arranged  them  for  his 
family. 

Numerous  friends  having  expressed  a  desire 
to  see  them,  they  are  published,  notwithstand- 
ing their  personal  and  familiar  character,  in  the 
hope  that  those  who  read  them  will  be  strength- 
ened in  seeing  how,  while  serving  France,  this 
young  soldier  wished  also  to  serve  Jesus  Christ 
and,  wearing  the  horizon-blue  uniform  of  the 
armies  of  the  Republic,  pursued  to  the  end  his 
"  Marche  à  l'  Etoile." 


I 

BEFORE  THE  CALL 


FOR  FRANCE  AND 
THE  FAITH 


BEFORE  THE  CALL 

Alfred  Eugène  Casalis  was  born  on  Feb- 
ruary 24th,  1896,  at  Mori j a,  Basutoland,  South 
Africa,  where  his  parents  were  missionaries. 
From  his  earHest  childhood  he  declared  his  firm 
intention  of  following  the  career  of  his  father 
and  grandfather.  This  early  decision,  from 
which  he  never  turned  aside  during  the  course 
of  his  classical  studies,  led  him  to  enter  the 
theological  seminary  of  Montauban.  He  had 
just  commenced  his  second  year  there  when  the 
course  of  events  turned  his  thoughts  toward 
other  horizons  and  imposed  upon  him  other 
duties. 

Montauban,  November  5,  1914. 
Everything  is  extraordinarily  calm  here,  the 
people,  the  city,  the  plants,  and  even  the  ani- 


4         FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

mais.  Everywhere  there  are  soldiers.  It  is 
the  one  fact  that  attracts  our  attention. 

One  feels  far,  very  far,  from  the  v^ar  —  as 
if  it  were  taking  place  somewhere  in  time  and 
in  space,  and  we  had  no  part  in  it  here. 

But  it  must  not  be.  One  must  react  against 
this  feeling.  It  is  necessary  to  feel  that  if  they 
are  fighting  and  struggling  and  suffering  and 
dying,  it  is  for  us,  and  that  that  fact  creates  for 
us  certain  duties  ;  the  duty  to  think  of  them,  to 
work  in  order  to  make  the  Patrie  which  they 
are  defending  great  and  beautiful,  and  to  pray 
for  them  if  one  has  the  faith. 

And  then  perhaps  our  hour  will  come  also. 
And  while  waiting  until  that  hour  strikes  it  is 
necessary  to  meditate;  to  open  our  eyes  to  the 
fact  of  death;  to  learn  how  to  live  with  it  at 
our  elbows,  in  order  that  its  coming  may  not 
surprise  us  ;  to  prepare  ourselves  to  receive  it  as 
a  distinguished  guest  who  will  lead  us  toward 
life. 

And  then  again,  one  must  search  to  discover 
if  he  can  fight  —  if  he  has  a  heart  sufficiently 
free  from  hatred  to  be  able  to  fight  without  ani- 
mosity ;  if  he  has  a  heart  vibrating  enough  with 
love  to  fight  for  others  and  not  merely  ''  to  save 
his  own  skin";  if  he  is  quite  decided  to  be  a 


BEFORE  THE  CALL  5 

champion  of  right,  of  justice,  and  of  Hberty; 
if  he  loves  sufficiently  the  justice  which  will  be 
brought  about  afterwards  to  fight  with  the  cer- 
tainty that  our  victory  will  give  one  more  good 
workman  to  the  task  of  world-wide  regenera- 
tion. Then,  too,  it  is  necessary  to  be  on  the 
watch  —  on  the  watch  for  the  least  suffering 
which  surrounds  us,  in  order  to  relieve  it;  on 
the  watch  for  the  least  injustice  within  our 
reach,  in  order  to  crush  it  ;  on  the  watch  for  all 
justice  which  points  upward,  in  order  to  go  to 
its  aid  and  make  it  triumph.  That  is  our 
''  Veillée  d'  armes,"  and  our  watchword  is 
"  Christ  and  France." 

November  i6th. 
Since  the  beginning  of  the  war  I  have  been 
thinking  with  infinite  gratitude  of  all  those  who 
went  to  fight  in  order  that  we  might  remain  in 
security  and  in  peace.  I  was  meditating  espe- 
cially about  Paul  ^  and  those  who  were  attached 
to  him  by  his  vision  of  social  justice  and  by  the 
common  desire  to  deliver  humanity  from  war. 
I  was  thinking  with  admiration  of  all  the  paci- 
fists who,  by  a  painful  effort,  had  succeeded  in 


1  His  cousin,  M.   Paul  Reuss,  who  fell  on  the  field 
of  honor  Sept.  26,  1914. 


6         FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

harmonizing  their  ideal  of  peace  with  the  neces- 
sity of  fighting. 

He  himself  will  not  see  the  triumph,  he  will 
have  known  only  the  sacrifice.  But  we  who 
remain,  who  are  now  the  "  Young  France,"  we 
take  an  oath  over  these  freshly  rounded  graves 
to  take  up  the  work  of  our  elders.  May  they 
rest  in  peace.  Our  life  from  now  on  is  con- 
secrated to  their  ideal,  which  has  become  our 
own.  And  with  the  aid  of  God,  we  will  make 
their  ideal  victorious. 

November  21st. 

My  room  continues  to  be  the  same  delightful 
retreat  where  I  feel  so  happy.  The  lamp  sheds 
a  circle  of  light  upon  all  that  immediately  sur- 
rounds me,  and  at  a  little  greater  distance  every- 
thing rests  in  the  penumbra,  except  the  hearth 
where  my  fire  crackles.  Upon  the  table  before 
me  I  have  all  my  books,  written  and  read  also, 
for  the  most  part,  in  so  much  enthusiasm  and 
love.  And  then  you  are  there,  you  and  father, 
beneath  a  bouquet  of  chrysanthemums. 

Since  I  left  Paris  I  have  not  felt  so  much  at 
peace  as  this  evening.  I  was  asking  myself 
what  we  would  become,  if  we  were  called  up, 
we  of  the  classe  of  1916. 


BEFORE  THÉ  CALL  7 

But  now  my  mind  is  at  rest  ;  we  are  going  to 
be  called  before  the  conseil  de  revision.  AU 
that  remains  is  to  await  the  hour  and  while 
waiting  to  prepare  one's  self. 


II 

AT  THE  BARRACKS 


II 

AT  THE  BARRACKS 

In  the  month  of  January,  after  having  passed 
the  Christmas  hoHdays  with  his  family  at  Paris, 
he  presented  himself  before  the  conseil  de  revi- 
sion^ and,  not  waiting  until  his  class  (1916) 
would  be  called,  enlisted  as  a  volunteer  for  the 
duration  of  the  war. 

Montauban,  January  7,  191 5. 
.  .  .  I  am  a  soldier  of  my  own  free  will,  and 
not  because  of  a  whim,  either.  What  else 
could  be  done  ?  It  is  all  very  well  to  be  a  paci- 
fist, but  under  some  circumstances  nothing  can 
hold  one  back.  To  begin  with,  when  one  sees 
what  atrocities  our  enemies  are  committing, 
one  understands  that  it  is  necessary  to  put  a 
stop  to  them  as  quickly  as  possible,  and,  if  one 
can  be  of  any  aid,  he  must  get  into  the  game. 
And  then  when  one  knows  that  there  are  those 
who  shirk  their  duty,  who  are  ambuscading,  it 
is  impossible  to  resist;  one  must  be  off. 
11 


12       FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

And  yet  you  know  how  contrary  this  is  to 
my  nature,  to  my  ideals,  and  to  my  vocation. 
You  know  how  it  has  been  my  desire  to  be  of 
service  and  that  I  have  only  one  ambition;  to 
take  a  message  of  sympathy,  of  hope,  and  of 
love  to  those  who  suffer,  as  did  the  Master 
whom  I  love  and  wish  to  serve. 

And  so  here  I  am  at  the  barracks  ! 

Castelsarrasin,  January  15th. 

Immediately  upon  my  arrival  at  Montauban 
I  enrolled  with  the  nth  Infantry.  On  Wed- 
nesday, the  6th,  at  9  :oo  a.  m.  I  went  to  the  bar- 
racks. An  hour  later  I  had  become  one  of  the 
most  hideous  looking  infantrymen  of  France 
and  Navarre. 

In  the  first  place,  hair  clipped  short  like  that 
of  a  criminal;  then  I  am  clad  in  a  uniform  as 
dirty  as  a  uniform  could  be.  The  overcoat 
{capote),  ripped  in  many  places,  has  a  large 
round  burn  in  the  lower  part  of  the  back  ;  either 
caused  by  a  bursting  shell,  or  by  its  former 
owner  having  sat  down  upon  a  lighted  ciga- 
rette !     Moreover,  in  said  capote  there  is  room 

enough  for  M by  my  side.     The  coat  on 

the  other  hand  is  too  small  for  me,  and  the 
sleeves  —  too  short  —  have  been  darned  and 


AT  THE  BARRACKS  13 

resewed,  one  with  white  thread,  the  other  with 
red.  Then,  too,  the  trousers  also  too  short  evi- 
dently have  caught  all  the  grease  of  all  the  mess 
pans  of  the  squad. 

I  might  add  here  that  I  have  not  shaved  for 
eight  days  !  So  far  as  toilette  is  concerned  all 
one  can  do  is  to  keep  clean.  Apart  from  all 
this,  I  look  sweet  enough  to  eat  ! 

My  outfit  once  completed,  I  was  notified  that 
they  would  send  me  to  Castelsarrasin  where 
the  entire  19 15  class  of  the  nth  Infantry,  to 
which  I  am  assigned,  is  receiving  instruction. 

Thursday  morning  I  had  my  knapsack,  mess- 
pan,  blanket,  rifle,  cartridge  box,  etc.  In  short, 
I  was  ready  to  leave.  But  I  did  not  leave  then, 
nor  Friday.  Saturday  I  was  trying  to  be  over- 
looked so  that  I  should  not  leave  until  Monday, 
and  would  be  able  to  pass  Sunday  at  Mon- 
tauban. 

Unhappily  at  noon  the  sergeant  jumped  on 
me  and  had  me  equip  myself  as  quickly  as  pos- 
sible with  entire  outfit.  I  went  down  into  the 
barracks  square  and  left  with  four  other  bleus 
(raw  recruits). 

I  am  quartered  in  a  schoolroom  where  we  are 
only  twenty-five.  It  is  warm  here  and  we 
sleep  well.     For  exercise  they  make  us  hum, 


14       FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

""  barder  " —  using  the  favorite  expression  of 
the  adjutant.  I  am  getting  along  very  w^ell  and 
the  hfe  is  benefiting  me. 

Alas,  here  my  letter  desinit  in  piscem. 
There  is  roll-call  at  8:15  and  now  it  is  8:05. 
In  order  to  reach  the  barracks  I  have  still  to 
cross  the  city,  for  I  am  writing  in  a  café  where 
they  have  loaned  me  a  dirty  table,  a  broken 
pen,  and  muddy  ink,  in  a  room  where  sixty 
soldiers  are  reading,  shouting,  and  playing. 
So  please  excuse  paper,  penmanship,  style,  and 
the  absence  of  ideas. 

January  17th. 

We  have  just  been  inoculated  against  ty- 
phoid. There  were  about  1,500  of  us,  all  the 
hleus  of  the  nth.  The  injection  did  not  hurt 
especially,  but  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening 
my  arm  commenced  to  get  numb.  All  night 
long  I  had  fever  with  a  violent  headache,  which 
gradually  passed  away.  Now  only  the  spot 
where  the  injection  was  made  is  at  all  painful, 
so  you  see  all  is  going  well. 

There  is  nothing  harder  than  getting  to  sleep 
in  our  room.  Of  the  fifty  poilus  who  are  quar- 
tered here,  there  are  about  twenty  peasants 
from  Corrèze,  all  lodged  in  the  same  corner  of 


AT  THE  BARRACKS  15 

the  barn.  Disappointed  in  having  to  retire  and 
being  no  longer  able  to  dance  "'  La  Bourrée,' 
they  are  whistling  it  with  all  their  might.  On 
my  side  there  are  some  men  from  Bordeaux, 
who,  being  naturally  full  of  fire,  will  not  allow 
themselves  to  be  outdone  by  the  Corrèziens 
with  whom  they  are  great  rivals.  You  can 
imagine  the  chances  for  rest!  Finally  along 
about  ten-thirty  silence  reigns.  Not  for  long, 
however,  for  no  sooner  are  they  asleep  than 
they  begin  to  snore,  the  Bordelais  as  loud  as  the 
Corrèziens. 

Sunday  we  were  confined  to  barracks  because 
several  cases  of  measles  had  been  discovered. 
Up  to  ten  o'clock  we  did  nothing,  then  we  had 
la  soiipc,  after  which  I  strolled  along  the  Alois- 
sac  road  and  watched  an  uninteresting  game  of 
football.  At  four  o'clock  I  entered  the  church 
to  attend  vespers.  The  organ  was  good  and 
the  organist  ver}^  skilful.  Then  again  mess, 
and  I  am  writing  to  you  and  reading  a  little 
before  going  to  bed. 

I  have  been  definitely  assigned  to  the  9th 
squad.  The  Quartermaster  sergeant  gave  me 
a  mattress  cover  and  a  pillow  slip,  saying,  *'  I 
have  no  straw,  hustle  around  and  find  some." 
I  wandered  around  the  farms  in  the  neighbor- 


16       FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

hood  and  finally  found  something  with  which 
to  stuff  the  mattress,  but  not  without  some  diffi- 
culty. 

I  am  somewhat  acquainted  with  my  corporal, 
as  he  is  from  Montauban  and,  though  a  Cath- 
olic, used  to  attend  the  Christian  Student  Fed- 
eration meetings. 

I  have  become  a  member  of  the  Corporals' 
Training  Squad.  There  are  104  of  us  and 
only  twenty-six  corporals  are  needed.  Natu- 
rally, in  order  to  make  the  necessary  selection 
they  give  us  plenty  of  work. 

How  one  feels  the  need  of  meditation  after 
some  time  of  barrack  life  !  Here  one  lets  go  of 
himself  to  such  an  extent  and  becomes  accus- 
tomed to  living  outside  of  any  real  communion 
with  the  Master,  to  praying  with  words  and 
formulas  only.  Oh,  that  those  who  can,  who 
have  the  leisure  and  strength  might  pray  for 
those  who  can  not! 

Montauban,  February  12th. 
I  have  just  passed  fifteen  days  at  the  hospital 
with  the  measles.  After  six  days  of  high  fever 
I  gradually  became  better  and  have  rapidly  re- 
gained my  strength,  not  having  had  any  com- 
plications. 


AT  THE  BARRACKS  17 

Friday,  the  fifth,  I  left  the  hospital.  I  was 
still  quite  weak,  but  that  was  all.  W'hen  I  ar- 
rived here  I  was  exhausted,  done  up  completely, 
weighing  only  fifty-five  kilos,  with  sore  eyes 
and  the  beginning  of  bronchitis  besides.  And 
I  have  only  eight  days  in  which  to  get  rid  of  all 
and  be  ready  to  regain  my  post. 

I-  have  seen  the  doctor,  who  ordered  rest,  not 
to  go  out  before  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  nor 
after  sunset.  I  am  a  very  good  little  boy  and 
obey  his  orders  scrupulously.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  I  am  endeavoring  to  reenter  the  ranks  as 
soon  as  possible  in  order  to  leave  with  the 
others.  It  seems  that  we  shall  leave  for  the 
front  between  the  first  and  the  twentieth  of 
March.  I  say  the  front  ;  in  reality  it  is  almost 
certain  that  they  will  take  us  somewhere  into 
the  army  zone  to  complete  our  preparation 
there. 

Some  people  have  thought  that  after  the  dis- 
agreeable experiences  which  I  underwent  at  the 
barracks,  I  must  regret  very  much  having  en- 
listed! I  have  sent  word  to  them  that  if  it 
were  to  be  done  over  I  would  do  it  again  and 
w4th  more  enthusiasm  than  the  first  time.  I 
only  wish  that  I  might  have  told  them  so  my- 
self. 


18       FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

I  am  happy  and  at  peace,  because  I  know 
that  He  is  there  and  watches  over  all  His  own. 

Castelsarrasin,  February  13th. 
Many  thanks  for  the  package.  I  appreciate 
your  choice  of  books  very  much.^  I  have  cir- 
culated them  somewhat.  My  less  fortunate 
pals  are  delighted  with  them;  they  didn't  be- 
lieve such  good  literature  existed  and  are  simply 
devouring  it. 

February  19th. 
This  morning,  weather  clear  and  pleasant  — 
what  luck  for  my  first  outing  since  leaving  the 
hospital!  We  started  off  without  knapsacks. 
It  was  delightful  to  swing  along  the  road  in  the 
fresh  morning  air.  I  was  in  fine  trim  and  re- 
joiced in  the  physical  exercise.  We  marched 
rapidly  and,  in  the  still  air,  only  one  step  could 
be  heard.  I  was  glad  to  have  found  my  place 
again  and  not  to  be  any  longer  on  the  shelf. 
We  are  beginning  to  work  with  a  snap. 

February  20th. 
Today  I  received  some  news  which  troubles 


1  Especially  certain  pamphlets  of  the  "Petite  aiithoU 
ogie  littéraire  idéaliste  pour  les  jeunes." 


AT  THE  BARRACKS  19 

me  a  great  deal,  and  before  arriving  at  any 
decision  I  wish  to  speak  with  you  about  it. 

A  competitive  examination  for  entrance  to 
the  reserve  officers'  training  camp  is  going  to  be 
held  among  the  volunteers  and  the  soldiers 
called  up  of  the  class  191 6.  Those  who  are 
accepted  will  be  assigned  to  a  special  instruction 
camp,  where  they  will  be  trained  to  become  re- 
serve officers.  Those  who  will  have  done  their 
work  well  will  leave  wuth  the  grade  of  aspirant, 
and  later  (at  the  front)  will  be  nominated 
second  lieutenants,  evidently  an  especially  great 
advantage,  for  the  remainder  of  the  service. 

But  all  that  means  a  delay  of  at  least  four 
months  before  leaving  for  the  front.  Now  I 
ask  myself  if  accepting  this  delay  would  not 
be  cowardice  on  my  part.  My  comrades  will 
be  leaving  for  the  front  within  a  month,  no 
doubt.  And  should  I  be  remaining  behind  un- 
der shelter?  I  w^ould  be  leaving  only  after  the 
hardest  w^ork  (the  driving  of  the  enemy  out  of 
the  trenches)  will  probably  have  been  accom- 
plished !  And  then  is  it  not  my  duty  to  remain 
with  these  comrades  in  order  to  help  them  ? 

This  question  troubles  me  a  great  deal. 
Pray  that  I  may  see  my  duty  clearly  and  that 
I  may  have  the  strength  to  discharge  it  faith- 


£Ô      FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

fully;  either  to  stick  humbly  to  my  post  or  to 
work  hard,  should  I  pass  the  examination. 

February  25th. 
I  wish  to  tell  you  at  once  where  I  stand.  I 
was  very  much  concerned  about  the  subject  of 
the  examination  for  student  officers  of  the  re- 
serve, alternating  between  *'  yes  "  and  "  no  " 
and  not  seeing  my  way  at  all  clearly,  when 
Monday  morning  an  unforeseen  event  drew 
me  from  my  embarrassment.  It  happened  at 
roll-call  that  morning  that  the  lieutenant  asked 
the  company  for  fifty  volunteers  to  leave  for 
the  front.  It  was  no  longer  possible  to  hesi- 
tate. I  saw  my  duty  and  immediately  gave  in 
my  name. 

•  •  •  •  •     '     •  • 

These  volunteers  will  probably  leave  Castel 
this  week.  They  will  be  quartered  a  certain 
length  of  time  at  Montauban,  no  doubt,  where 
their  preparation  will  be  hastened.  Then  they 
will  be  sent  into  the  second  line  at  the  front, 
and  April  ist  they  will  be  in  the  trenches;  at 
least  that  is  what  they  tell  us.  Naturally  I 
volunteered.  It  will  only  mean  a  little  harder 
training  for  some  time  and  when  it  will  be 


AT  THE  BARRACKS  21 

necessary  to  leave,  I  shall  certainly  be  in  per- 
fect trim. 

Mother  dear,  I  beg  of  you  not  to  be  con- 
cerned about  me.  I  have  already  thought  of 
this  possibility  for  a  long  time  and  truly,  I 
could  not  do  otherzvise  than  offer  myself.  Our 
Father  who  is  good  certainly  can  protect  His 
child. 

February  28th. 

They  are  working  us  to  the  limit,  and  really, 
I  commence  to  feel  that  we  are  soldiers  and 
capable  of  doing  something. 

Friday  evening,  we  had  a  night  march  and 
drill.  At  7:10  we  assembled  in  absolute 
silence,  with  full  outfit.  At  7 125  we  departed. 
It  was  cool  and  we  marched  rapidly.  At  8 115, 
halt  ;  the  weather  was  clear,  the  sky  a  very  light 
blue  with  a  pale  gray  horizon,  and  the  leafless 
trees  were  very  striking  in  the  magnificent 
moonlight.  We  formed  small  groups,  stacked 
arms,  and  seated  ourselves,  talking  under  our 
breath.  The  scene  called  to  mind  Detaille's 
"  Le  Rêve."  We  set  off  again.  At  that  mo- 
ment the  moon  was  surrounded  by  a  marvelous 
halo,  the  most  beautiful  I  have  ever  seen;  it 
was  so  large  that  the  Great  Dipper  would  go  in 
it  almost  twice  over. 


22      FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

Soon  they  had  us  halt  again  and  divided  us 
into  sections,  each  having  to  post  sentinels  and 
organize  its  guard  service.  I  v^as  on  sentinel 
duty  for  twenty  minutes  on  the  border  of  a 
little  wood.  .  .  .  Soon  we  returned  at  a  fast 
pace  and  we  arrived  at  the  barracks  at  1 1  :oo 
p.  M.  Yesterday  afternoon  I  underwent  my 
last  inoculation  against  typhoid.  The  others 
did  not  amount  to  much,  but  this  one  gave  me  a 
violent  fever  and  my  arm  hurts  me  up  to  the 
shoulder,  which  is  swollen.  I  hope  there  will 
be  no  complications. 

March  ist. 
I  believe  I  have  all  the  tough  luck  !  Not  feel- 
ing very  well,  I  went  to  see  the  doctor  this 
morning.  He  said  that  I  had  the  beginning 
of  an  abscess  caused  by  the  vaccination  and 
now  here  I  am  in  the  hospital.  I  suffer  a  great 
deal. 

March  2nd. 
This  beastly  abscess  did  not  develop  and  after 
all  was  not  serious.  I  again  feel  quite  well  and 
tomorrow  I  return  to  my  proper  place  —  which 
I  wish  I  had  never  left  —  to  shoulder  again  my 
gun  and  knapsack  and  return  to  drill.  Hip! 
Hip!  Hurrah! 


AT  THE  BARRACKS  23 

March  3rd. 

Would  you  believe  it?  The  doctor  would 
not  accept  me  as  a  volunteer.  Thursday  after- 
noon we  all  had  a  medical  examination  and  a 
third  were  rejected.  I  no  longer  cough  at  all, 
but  it  seems  that  a  touch  of  bronchitis  remains 
from  my  measles.  Eighteen  of  us  have  been 
left  out  (laissés  en  panne). 

.  .  .  The  examination  was  severe  because 
these  volunteers  are  intended  for  a  corps  d'élite, 
especially  trained  and  prepared.  You  can 
imagine  how  badly  I  felt  to  have  to  stay  behind. 
After  all  one  must  learn  to  accept  the  inevitable 
and  to  accept  it  joyously,  especially  because 
there  are  so  many  watching  us. 

The  thought  which  has  permitted  me  to  re- 
main here  quietly,  I  was  going  to  say  almost 
joyfully,  is  that  I  am  going  to  be  with  these 
young  men  whom  I  know  now  and  who  know 
me  and  who  know  vaguely  whence  I  draw  the 
little  strength  I  have. 

If  you  only  knew  how  much  better  I  now 
understand  the  human  soul,  especially  the  soul 
of  these  humble  people  who  toil,  who  struggle, 
who  suffer,  who  are  holding  on  to  life  only  by 
a  thread  —  some  bits  of  affection,  a  little  in- 
terest, few  pleasures,  and  above  all  many  habits. 


24      FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

Ah,  yes,  often  I  regret  that  instinctive  aloof- 
ness of  earlier  days. 

There  are  such  riches  when  one  can  plunge 
to  the  depth  of  these  souls  !  I  have  learned  to 
love  them  and  now  I  am  trying  to  speak  to 
them.  Oh,  this  faith  which  I  felt  at  certain 
hours  so  luminous,  so  profound  —  oh,  how  dry 
and  scholastic  it  has  appeared  to  me,  made  up 
of  subtle  word  distinctions,  when  I  have  had  to 
speak  to  these  simple  people  who  understand 
only  life,  who  never  have  heard  people  speak  of 
idealism,  nor  of  the  spirit,  nor  of  matter,  but 
who  merely  live  and  suffer.  There  have  been 
moments  when  I  have  asked  myself  if  there 
should  not  be  one  religion  for  the  people  and 
another  for  the  intellectuels^  and,  consequently, 
also  two  distinct  moral  laws.  But  no,  I  feel 
that  it  cannot  be,  I  know  that  it  cannot  be,  and 
I  recall  the  words  of  the  Apostle:  Christ  is 
""  the  same  yesterday,  and  today  and  forever." 
And  was  he  not  Himself  a  carpenter?  And 
did  he  not  say,  "  Blessed  are  the  poor  in 
spirit"? 

These  are  some  of  the  pangs  that  pierce  my 
heart.  They  are  true;  they  are  real.  In  my 
faith  there  are  many  beliefs  that  are  more  or 
less  vital  ;  many  hopes  that  play  harmoniously 


AT  THE  BARRACKS  25 

in  my  life  only  because  I  am  at  heart  an  idealist 
in  the  philosophic  sense  of  the  term.  Without 
this  idealism  great  chasms  would  be  dug  in  my 
faith.  But  I  know,  with  an  unchangeable 
knowledge  and  invincible  confidence,  that  the 
basis  of  my  faith  —  God  as  Father,  Christ  risen 
and  living,  man  subjected  to  the  law  of  the  duty 
to  love  —  is  indestructible,  that  it  is  firmly 
founded  upon  the  rock. 

So  far  as  the  rest  is  concerned,  then,  what 
does  it  matter  ?  Little  by  little  all  will  become 
clear  and  luminous.  If  I  must  renounce  such 
and  such  an  axiom,  I  w^ill  renounce  it  ;  I  will  cut 
away  until  I  have  reached  what  life  really  is 
and  that  alone  I  am  searching:  first,  in  order  to 
live  and  then  in  order  to  help  others  to  live. 

We  students,  intellectuels,  \\q  allow  ourselves 
too  easily  to  become  absorbed  in  our  "  culture." 
We  assimilate  it  to  the  point  of  becoming  it. 
And  in  doing  so  we  make  a  great  mistake.  We 
must  always  remember  that  it  is  only  a  way  of 
looking  at  things  and  seek  to  preserve  carefully 
and  religiously  what  can  be  our  point  of  contact 
with  other  souls. 

And  I  mean  by  that  not  only  a  moral,  or 
strictly  speaking  a  religious  or  Christian  point 
of  contact,  but  also  an  intellectual  point  of  con- 


26       FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

tact,  the  angle  by  which  we  are  able  to  penetrate 
their  lives,  to  become  like  them,  to  become  one 
of  them  as  Jesus  did. 

I  am  writing  you  just  as  the  words  come  to 
me.  These  facts  are  old  and  often  restated, 
but  experiencing  them  at  every  moment  gives 
them  an  immense  value  and  one  which  I  regret 
not  to  be  able  to  translate  better. 

Before  the  end  of  the  month,  perhaps,  I 
shall  have  left  for  the  front.  In  my  heart  I 
have  been  meditating  over  these  things.  There 
is  also  and  always  that  peace  which  passes  all 
understanding  and  which  He  has  given  us. 

March  5th. 
Now  here  I  am  with  the  mumps  !  Thursday 
morning  my  abscess  had  disappeared  but  the 
left  side  of  my  face  commenced  to  swell.  I 
made  up  my  bundle  and  in  the  afternoon  moved 
to  the  general  hospital.  It  is  a  former  convent 
where  I  sleep  in  an  antique  wooden  four-poster. 
We  are  cared  for  by  a  good  old  sister  who  is 
simply  charming.  Friday  my  cheek  was  enor- 
mous, so  large  that  I  could  see  it  without 
squinting.  But  I  haven't  had  fever  for  an 
instant  and  am  not  suffering.  One  thing 
pleases  me  especially,  I  have  not  been  weak- 


AT  THE  BARRACKS  27 

ened  in  the  least.     I  have  a  voracious  appetite 
—  but  they  have  given  me  only  magnesia  ! 

Mr.  Louis  Lafon  very  kindly  came  to  see  me 
and  brought  me  some  chocolate,  books,  and 
writing  material.  I  truly  hope  that  this  will 
not  last  long. 

March  7th. 

Am  passing  a  sad  Sunday  —  the  saddest  of 
all  my  hospital  Sundays.  But  one  thing  makes 
it  easier  for  me  to  endure  —  the  certainty  that 
as  soon  as  I  shall  be  able  to  leave  the  physician 
will  turn  me  out.  And  then,  no  doubt,  I  shall 
have,  as  the  others  do,  six  days'  leave,  which 
I  shall  spend  at  home  —  that  is,  on  condition 
that  you  wish  me  !  Write  me  quickly.  But  it 
is  only  a  hope. 

On  March  nth,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  our  dear 
soldier  lad  arrived  at  Paris  and  spent  four  days 
with  us.  He  had  quite  regained  his  strength 
and  gaiety.  In  the  evening  of  Sunday  the  14th, 
he  left  for  his  depot.  Without  knowing  it,  we 
had  bidden  him  adieu  forever  on  this  earth.^ 

Castelsarrasin,  March  15th. 
Leaving  home  was  difficult,  but,  at  the  last 


2  All  paragraphs  in  italics  are  from  the  pen  of  the 
young  soldier's  father,  M.  A.  Casalis. 


28       FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

moment,  father  and  mother  were  so  calm,  so 
confident,  that  all  became  easy  and  one  might 
have  looked  upon  it  as  a  customary  parting. 
Especially  when  we  had  all  prayed  together 
everything  became  clear,  and  we  had  the  abso- 
lute certainty  that  it  was  only  a  temporary  au 
revoir,  since  we  are  awaited. 

Here  I  am  this  morning  again,  back  at  the 
barracks.  I  feel  marvellously  well,  full  of  en- 
thusiasm, of  hope,  and  of  confidence.  This 
afternoon,  we  did  a  little  march  of  fifteen  kilo- 
meters in  a  blistering  sun  and  in  the  dust  ;  every- 
thing went  along  all  right.  For  more  than  a 
year  I  have  not  felt  in  such  good  physical  con- 
dition and  such  good  spirits. 

March  i6th. 

...  In  short  ^  the  true  virtue  of  the  Chris- 
tian soldier  is  steadfastness:  "  Hold  fast  that 
which  thou  hast."  Unfortunately  that  cannot 
be  learned  in  a  few  days'  preparation  :  it  is  the 
lesson  of  a  life-time  and  one  that  is  never  well 
enough  understood. 

In  the  regiment  the  most  essential  thing  is 


3  Extract  from  a  letter  written  for  Notre  Revue,  the 
journal  of  the  Lycéens  chrétiens. 


AT  THE  BARRACKS  29 

not  to  allow  oneself  to  become  brutalized.  The 
mind  has  too  great  a  tendency  to  become  be- 
fouled; it  is  necessary  to  keep  incessantly  on 
the  alert,  and  to  that  end  one  must  prepare  in 
advance,  before  leaving,  a  series  of  subjects  to 
study,  w^hich  will  furnish  food  for  meditation 
during  the  hours  of  marching  or  inactivity. 

Some  of  the  most  painful  hours  of  regiment 
life  are  spent  on  the  march.  Then  it  is  that  the 
coarseness  of  the  men  comes  to  light  most  for- 
cibly and  in  the  form  of  the  vilest  songs.  They 
are  so  disgusting  one  guards  silence.  But  a 
moment  comes  when  even  the  most  calloused 
have  had  enough  —  that  is  the  opportunity 
which  must  be  seized  to  strike  up  a  clean,  at- 
tractive, healthful  song,  and  we  do  not  lack 
that  kind.  Since  in  the  barracks  one  is  rubbing 
shoulders  with  the  least  agreeable  things  of  life, 
characters  are  soon  shown  up  as  they  really 
are.  One  must  immediately  take  a  positive 
attitude  to  show  what  he  is  :  a  Christian.  Then 
to  hold  on.  If  one  has  fallen  in  with  a  bad 
crowd,  he  can  clear  himself  by  keeping  apart 
from  the  others,  but  never  forget  the  command 
of  our  Master,  ''  Love  one  another,"  translated 
more  especially  in  this  case  by  the  motto  of  the 


30       FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

Boy  Scouts,  "  Render  service  at  all  times."  By 
this  attitude  you  make  others  respect  you  and 
it  is  the  surest  way  to  their  hearts. 

March  17th. 

We  do  not  remain  here  much  longer.  The 
hour  of  departure  is  very  near.  In  a  fortnight 
we  probably  shall  be  at  the  front. 

I  shall  leave  calmly  and  with  confidence.  I 
shall  fight  with  a  good  conscience  and  without 
fear,  I  hope  ;  without  hate,  surely  ;  because  I  be- 
lieve our  cause  is  just,  because  France  vic- 
torious will  have  a  mission  to  fulfil,  a  mission 
of  civilizing  and  educating  mankind  for  a 
greater  solidarity.  I  believe  that  because  I 
have,  for  my  part,  accepted  such  a  vocation  and 
because  I  know  many  who  have  made  it  theirs. 

I  feel  filled  with  unbounded  hope  which 
shows  me  beyond  death  the  beginning  of  a  re- 
newed and  magnificent  life. 

March  21st. 

I  know  a  little  soldier  who  would  have  liked 
to  write  you  for  Sunday,  but  who  did  not  have 
the  time  and  regrets  it  very  much. 

Just  think,  yesterday  morning  we  were  awak- 
ened at  5  :20  and  the  sergeant  shouted  to  us 


AT  THE  BARRACKS  31 

"In  full  uniform."  As  I  was  en  corvée,  I 
slipped  into  red  trousers,  coat,  and  képi  and 
hurried  to  the  kitchen.  Returning,  I  put  on  my 
shoes  and  gaiters  and  made  my  bed. 

The  sergeant  enters  :  ''  All  in  undress."  I 
had  to  jump,  change  at  fourth  speed,  and  on 
the  run  equip  myself  with  knapsack,  gun,  etc. 

Scarcely  ready  when  the  sergeant  returns: 
*'  Throw  off  your  outfit  and  carry  your  bedding 
down  into  the  courtyard."  We  threw  off  our 
outfit,  carried  our  bedding  down,  then  climbed 
the  staircase  four  steps  at  a  time,  equipped  our- 
selves, reassembled,  and  here  we  are  off  for 

Cordes. 

In  the  freshness  of  the  morning  under  the 
clear  sky  we  marched  fast.  After  the  climb 
came  a  feed,  then  target  practice.  We  came 
back  rapidly  in  the  heat  of  the  day;  the  knap- 
sack was  heavy  and  the  feet  sore,  but  we  were 
glad  to  get  back. 

When,  lo  and  behold,  from  the  door  of  the 
barracks  we  saw  all  our  bedding  out  in  the  sun, 
forgotten.  After  going  up  to  throw  off  our 
things,  we  went  down  into  the  court  after  the 
mattresses,  etc.  As  some  are  ill,  there  is  other 
bedding  to  carry  up  besides  one's  own.  That 
done,  without  having  had  time  even  to  change 


S2      FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

our  shoes  we  ran  to  get  tea  and  later  la  soupe, 
for  it  was  six  o'clock. 

When  at  last  we  had  been  able  to  eat  and  to 
scrape  the  mud  off,  we  were  so  dead  tired  we 
could  only  crawl  to  the  canteen  for  a  hot  drink 
and  then  turn  in.  Thus  it  was  that  I  didn't 
write  you  your  Sunday  letter. 

These  days  I  am  thinking  about  an  article 
which  I  owe  to  C.  for  Notre  Revue,  the  maga- 
zine of  the  Lycéens  chrétiens.  I  believe  that  I 
shall  write  about  death,  for  I  am  often  thinking 
about  it.  I  am  thinking  of  all  these  young 
souls,  of  these  new  lives  which  the  war  has  re- 
forged  and  which,  intent  on  sacrifice,  have  be- 
come beautiful  and  great.  I  think  that  I  shall 
take  my  inspiration  from  these  words  of  Jesus, 
''  Father,  I  pray  not  that  Thou  shouldest  take 
them  out  of  the  world,  but  that  Thou  shouldest 
keep  them  from  the  evil."  But  I  do  not  know 
if  I  shall  be  able  to  write  the  article.  If  the 
ideas  and  words  don't  come  as  I  wish,  I  shall 
write  nothing. 

Do  not  conclude  from  this  that  I  believe  my- 
self about  to  die.  No,  I  have  more  faith  than 
ever  in  life.  I  realize  more  than  in  the  past  that 
it  is  necessary  to  live,  and  I  wish  to  live.  But 
nevertheless  I  feel  ready,  and  death,  if  it  should 


AT  THE  BARRACKS  SS 

come,  will  not  take  me  by  surprise.  However, 
I  should  have  liked  one  thing  —  to  attend  one 
more  Communion  service.  At  the  same  time 
I  hope  that  we  shall  be  far  away  at  the  front, 
by  Easter. 

You  have  no  idea  of  the  peace  in  which  I  live. 
All  those  I  love  are  near  me,  very  near  — . 

We  are  all  now  en  service  commandé  and 
our  service  is  sacred.  Perhaps  we  shall  be 
called  to  remain  alone;  those  who  will  have 
gone  before  will  still  be  with  us  and  the  mem- 
ory of  their  effort  will  live.  Besides  they  will 
be  living  in  the  light  which  our  eyes  do  not  yet 
behold,  very  near  to  us.  And  w^e  shall  be  for- 
ever united  in  the  closest  of  bonds  when  we  are 
one  in  Him,  we  in  Him  and  He  in  us. 

March  25th. 

We  are  still  working  very  hard.  Nearly 
every  morning  we  have  an  hour's  fencing  à  la 
bayonnette,  and  an  hour's  gun  drill.  In  the 
afternoon  they  divide  us  into  two  squads,  one 
attacking  the  other.  We  advance  as  skirmish- 
ers and  at  every  fresh  bound  each  digs  a  cover 
for  himself.  This  exercise  terminates  with  a 
bayonet  charge,  all  shouting  like  demons. 

Yesterday  we  had  target  practice  at  Cordes. 


3é      FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

Réveil  at  five  o'clock;  at  5  .-35  assembly  in  the 
courtyard,  with  full  campaign  equipment;  at 
six,  off.  The  weather  was  fine  and  cool,  and 
marching  was  not  difficult.  It  certainly  is 
springtime.  Along  the  hedges  the  hawthorn  is 
in  bloom,  and  here  and  there  hang  long  clusters 
of  clematis.  Everywhere  violets,  daisies,  and 
buttercups.  The  men  were  in  good  spirits  and 
hummed  tunes  all  along  the  way. 

We  reached  the  practice  ground  about  8 :30. 
From  nine  o'clock  until  noon,  rifle  shots  fol- 
lowed one  another  without  interruption,  and 
upon  a  mound  at  250  meters  the  indifferent 
silhouettes  appeared  and  disappeared  every  ten 
seconds. 

One  has  to  fire  quite  fast.  I  almost  did  as 
one  guy  w^ho  said,  ''Mon  lieutenant,  I  see 
double,  and,  unfortunately,  I  always  fire  at  the 
second  image  !  " 

About  noon  bugle  call  and  we  ate,  scattered 
about  at  the  foot  of  trees,  watching  the  Garonne 
flow  past,  clear  and  majestic.  At  one  o'clock,  a 
whistle,  shoulder  knapsacks,  and  en  route.  It 
was  torrid  hot,  the  climb  stiff,  and  the  knapsack 
heavy.  The  first  few  minutes  were  trying, 
then  one  got  into  the  stride,  and  the  rest  of  the 
march  went  with  a  swing. 


AT  THE  BARRACKS 


85 


When  I  do  not  know  what  to  do,  on  the 
march  for  example,  or  at  exercise,  I  sing 
intérieurement;  I  listen  to  the  music  which  is 
slumbering  within  me.  At  this  moment  it  is 
especially  Beethoven  who  is  speaking  to  me. 
One  or  two  things,  these  days,  have  done  me  a 
particular  amount  of  good. 


Le  Menuetto  de  la  sonate  VÏÏ,  de  Beethoven, 


^n  jJiJjJ» 


V  Andante  de  la  sonate  X,  de  Beethoven, 


et  le  7^  Prelude  de  Chopin-. 

^     dolce 


You  will  excuse  me  if  I  do  not  transcribe 
them  in  the  right  key  ;  it  is  only  to  give  you  a 
general  idea  of  what  I  am  writing  about. 

March  25th. 
The  Master's  call  is  always  ringing  in  my 


36      FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

ears,  or  rather  in  my  heart,  and  what  am  I  do- 
ing by  way  of  responding  to  it? 

I  hear  the  question  of  Pilate  "  Art  thou  the 
King?  "  and  Jesus  replying,  "  Thou  sayest  it." 
And  here  the  Prince  of  Peace,  the  Christ-King, 
is  forsaken;  His  words.  His  commands.  His 
teachings  are  contradicted  by  the  life  of  every 
day.  Oh,  my  France,  what  hast  thou  done 
with  thy  King  ?  And  all  Christendom  and  the 
Church,  what  have  you  done  with  your 
Saviour?  He  was  King,  King  by  right,  King 
by  birth.  King  by  the  will  of  God  ;  and  His  own 
have  forsaken  Him  ;  He  is  left  alone. 

But  it  can  not  be  thus.  He  shall  be  King. 
The  Student  Volunteers  have  promised  it. 
Francis  Monod,  Robert  Prunier,  and  others, 
many  others,  have  died  thinking  of  the  glorious 
reign  which  ought  to  come,  and  which  is  com- 
ing. Their  death  is  a  stride  in  the  coming  of 
this  reign,  as  their  life  had  been. 

And  then  the  new  France  must  arise  for  this  : 
**  To  make  Christ  King."  And  to  those  who 
remain  is  the  task  of  preparing  new  laborers 
for  the  harvest  which  is  ripening. 

We  take  the  oath,  Lord,  that  we  will  work 
that  thy  Kingdom  come;  we  will  give  our  life 
for  this  ideal. 


AT  THE  BARRACKS  37 

March  28th. 
They  have  been  teaching  us  how  to  construct 
individual  entrenchments.     We  attack   en  ti- 
railleurs, elbow  to  elbow.     At  the  command 
"  halt,"  we  lie  down  and  as  quickly  as  possible 
take  off  our  sacks  and  place  them  in  front  of 
us  as  a  protection.     The  even  numbers  com- 
mence firing,  and  the  odds,  while  remaining 
flat  and  sheltered  as  much  as  possible,  must  dig 
a  trough  in  which  they  can  stretch  out  full 
length,  a  trench  deeper  at  the  head  than  at  the 
foot.     All  the  earth  removed  is  piled  up  in 
front  in  such  a  manner  as  to  form  a  mask.     As 
soon  as  the  pile  is  large  enough  to  conceal  a 
man  at  full  length,  the  rôles  are  reversed;  the 
even  numbers  dig  and  the  odds  fire.     When 
everybody  is  under  cover,   we  again  change 
tools,  join  together,  and  deepen  the  individual 
trenches  so  as  to  transform  them  into  trenches 
for  riflemen  lying  down.     The  essential  thing 
is    to    work    fast  — not    easy   when    one    is 
stretched  out  full  length. 

To  give  more  "  pep  "  to  the  exercise  a  line  of 
enemies  is  placed  in  a  trench  already  existing 
in  front  of  the  workers,  and  blank  cartridges 
are  served  out  to  them.  When  they  notice  a 
man  showing  himself  a  little  too  much  they  fire 


38      FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

at  him  and  the  man  is  declared  dead.  How- 
ever, that  doesn't  prevent  him  from  continuing 
his  digging! 

I  think  that  I  am  ready  to  leave,  I  mean 
morally  speaking.  I  have  tried  with  all  my 
power  to  prepare  for  it.  And  I  have  accus- 
tomed myself  to  face  the  idea  of  death  ;  it  gives 
me  no  fear.  If  I  must  fall  up  there,  I  am 
ready.  I  shall  die  without  regret,  because  I 
know  that  others  will  know  how  to  do  better 
than  I  the  work  to  which  I  am  consecrated, 
because  I  have  the  assurance  that  I  have  found 
the  way,  and  that  the  Master  will  recognize  me 
as  one  of  His  own.  I  am  at  peace,  for  I  know 
that  the  Father  will  take  care  of  those  whom  I 
love  and  that  He  will  guard  me.  More  and 
more  it  seems  to  me  that  I  can  live  only  to 
work  for  this  :     "  Thy  Kingdom  come." 

April  1st. 

We  feel  that  the  hour  of  departure  is  ap- 
proaching. We  must  be  at  Montauban  April 
1 2th,  at  the  latest.  I  commence  to  have  had 
enough  of  this  hole  of  a  Castel.  I  scarcely 
ever  go  out  now.  This  evening  I  went  to  hear 
the  *'  Stabat  "  sung. 

My  Corporal  having  left,  I  replace  him,  and 


AT  THE  BARRACKS  39 

must  make  the  roll  call.  Therefore  it  is  need- 
less to  turn  in  before  8:15.  I  am  going  to 
profit  from  these  few  minutes  to  read  and  med- 
itate over  my  New  Testament. 

I  am  thinking  especially  of  these  words, 
*'  With  desire  I  have  desired  to  eat  this  pass- 
over  with  you"  (Luke  22:15).^  This  pas- 
sage struck  me  particularly  last  evening,  "  Jesus 
knowing  that  his  hour  was  come  that  he  should 
depart  out  of  this  world  unto  the  Father  " 
(John  13  :  I  ),  and  that  promise  he  made  to  his 
disciples  is  a  source  of  strength  to  me,  **  Be- 
cause I  live,  ye  shall  live  also  "  (John  14:  19). 
May  we  learn  obedience  by  the  things  which  we 
suffer  (cf.  Heb.  5:8)  and  ''  know  him,  and  the 
power  of  his  resurrection  and  the  fellowship 
of  his  sufferings,  becoming  conformed  unto  his 
death,"  if  by  any  means  we  may  attain  unto 
the  resurrection  from  the  dead  (Phil.  3:  10, 
II). 

April  5th. 

Yesterday  I  had  twenty-four  hours'  leave 
which  I  spent  at  Montauban.  Today,  Easter 
Monday,  we  are  free  from  noon  on.     I  went 

*  He  had  hoped  to  pass  Easter  at  Montauban  and  to 
take  communion  there.  This  pleasure  was  accorded 
him. 


40       FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

out  with  five  or  six  comrades;  we  took  along 
books,  paper,  and  fishpoles.  Then  we  went 
and  sat  down  on  the  bank  of  the  canal,  dropped 
our  lines  into  the  water  and  basked  in  the  sun- 
light, chatting  like  kids.  The  canal,  in  spring, 
is  the  only  agreeable  sight  at  Castel.  The  very 
clear  sky  of  a  pale  blue,  the  rippling  water,  the 
trees  on  all  sides  which  were  becoming  green, 
the  sun,  the  red  trousers  and  the  peaceful 
barges  —  all  that  made  a  very  picturesque  and 
restful  scene. 

When  I  wrote  you  last  week  that  I  was  a 
little  tired,  I  meant  by  that  simply  as  every 
evening.  After  having  done  an  hour  of  bay- 
onet fencing  and  an  hour  of  gun  drill  in  the 
morning,  marched  ten  or  twelve  kilometers  in 
the  afternoon,  practiced  skirmish  attacks  and 
dug  shelter  trenches,  only  one  idea  comes  to  us, 
to  turn  in  as  soon  as  possible.  I  am  marvel- 
lously well  and  at  Montauban  I  was  compli- 
mented on  my  ruddy  complexion  and  even  on 
being  fat! 

Here  is  the  story  of  my  leave.  Last  Thurs- 
day, we  went  to  Cordes  for  rifle  practice. 
When  it  came  time  to.  return,  the  lieutenant 
said  to  us,  ''  Let  us  try  to  catch  up  with  the 
4th  Company,  which  left  here  twenty  minutes 


AT  THE  BARRACKS  41 

ago."  Accordingly  we  stretched  out  more  and 
more,  which  was  quite  easy  as  our  knapsacks 
were  empty  or  nearly  so.  Arrived  at  the  top 
of  the  slope,  we  saw  the.  4th  Company  a  kilo- 
meter and  a  half  ahead,  so  wx  lengthened  our 
stride.  But  after  a  while  they  saw  that  we 
were  giving  them  the  chase  and  struck  up  a 
quicker  pace.  Seeing  that,  our  lieutenant  each 
time  that  a  turn  concealed  us  from  their  view 
put  us  at  double  quick.  As  soon  as  this  was 
discovered,  the  4th  did  likewise.  Thus  we 
gave  them  a  frantic  chase  until  w^ithin  a  kilo- 
meter of  Castel,  where  we  stopped  to  await  the 
stragglers  ;  we  were  then  only  fifty  meters  from 
the  4th  !  And  the  ten  kilometers  had  been 
covered  in  one  hour  and  a  quarter  ! 

The  lieutenant  was  delighted.  Moreover  at 
roll  call  in  the  evening  he  had  it  announced  that 
those  who  wanted  a  leave  had  only  to  see  him. 

Then  and  there  I  put  in  a  request,  and  Sat- 
urday morning  it  was  signed.  I  left  Castel  at 
3  o'clock,  took  tea  with  the  L's,  and  dined  with 
Madame  C.  Sunday  I  lunched  at  Madame 
L's,  who  had  invited  me  and  had  prepared  a 
monstrous  meal  fit  for  Pantagruel.  Notwith- 
standing my  very  remarkable  appetite,  I  could 
not  eat  enough  to  satisfy  her. 


42       FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

In  the  afternoon  I  heard  a  fine  sermon  by 
Mr.  Louis  Lafon  on  the  text,  **  He  shall  wipe 
away  every  tear  from  their  eyes,"  followed  by 
a  Communion  service  which  was  very  beauti- 
ful and  helpful  after  the  loneliness  of  Castel. 
You  can  imagine  how  I  enjoyed  my  Easter 
Day! 

Just  think!  The  other  day  on  the  barrack 
stairs  I  heard  a  raw  peasant  from  Limousin 
whistling  à  tue-tête  the  Minuet  of  the  7th 
Sonata  of  Beethoven!  He  had  picked  it  up 
from  hearing  me  hum  it  on  the  march. 

Tomorrow  we  take  up  the  usual  work.  As 
for  our  departure  we  know  nothing. 

Montauhan,  April  7th. 

Here  I  am  again  at  Montauban  for  a  few 
hours,  and  this  time  it  is  for  the  departure.  I 
leave  with  a  detachment  of  120  men  to  go  to 
reen force  the  — th  at  the  Hurlus  front. 

Monday  evening,  at  5  o'clock  roll  call,  six- 
teen volunteers  were  called  for  from  the  com- 
pany. As  I  had  been  excused  from  roll  call  I 
was  not  there,  but  I  was  informed  in  the  eve- 
ning that  thirty  volunteers  —  or  involontaires 
—  had  been  taken,  sixteen  to  leave  at  once,  the 
others  in  case  some  of  the  first  lot  were  re- 


AT  THE  BARRACKS  43 

jected  by  the  doctors.  Tuesday  morning  at 
6:15,  drill;  the  medical  examination  had  to  be 
passed  at  7  o'clock.  When  the  lieutenant  ar- 
rived a  comrade  and  I  told  him  of  our  desire 
to  go,  and  he  authorized  us  to  be  examined. 
We  went  and  found  that  it  was  a  long  exami- 
nation. The  doctor  said  to  me,  "  You  can  go, 
no  danger  of  your  being  rejected."  It  was 
8  :o5  and  I  was  in  undress.  I  rushed  into  the 
dormitory,  changed,  made  up  my  sack,  and 
gave  to  the  quarter-master  everything  I  didn't 
need.  At  half  past  eight,  downstairs.  At 
nine,  we  took  the  train.  On  arriving  here,  I 
found  the  Rev.  Mr.  P.  Galley  and  lunched  with 
him  at  the  mess  of  the  non-commissioned  of- 
ficers, he  being  an  adjutant.  Then  we  went  to 
his  room  where  I  found  Robert  Dieterlen,  the 
missionary,  who  is  corporal  in  the  — th  Chas- 
seurs.^ 

This  afternoon  they  gave  us  a  new  outfit, 
fancy  gray  coat,  capote  of  mist  blue,  small 
light  blue  képiy  and  excellent  shoes.  Besides 
there  are  rest  shoes,  a  large  sleeping  sack  of 
waterproof  canvas,  canteen,  knapsack,  shelter 
tent  and  pegs,  tools,  and  a  camp  kettle.     When 

5  Missing  since  the  great  offensive  of  September  25, 
1915. 


44       FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

all  will  be  included  the  knapsack  will  weigh 
about  twenty-four  kilos  !  At  nine  o'clock  this 
morning  we  shall  be  passed  in  review,  and 
probably  leave  in  the  course  of  the  afternoon. 
I  leave  contented,  confident,  at  peace.  I 
thank  you,  father,  and  you  my  darling  mother, 
for  all  the  love  and  tenderness  you  have  given 
us,  for  all  the  confidence  in  life  and  in  our 
Lord,  and  for  all  the  hope  you  have  inspired  in 
me.  Thanks  also,  that  on  leaving,  we  are  as- 
sured that  you  will  not  grieve  too  much,  be- 
cause you  know  how  we  are  protected.  I  em- 
brace you  with  all  the  love  in  my  heart. 

April  7th. 

Now  we  are  off!  I  leave  joyful  at  the 
thought  that  at  last  I  am  going  to  be  able  to  do 
something. 

I  am  not  afraid  to  die.  I  say  this  in  all  sin- 
cerity; I  have  made  the  sacrifice  of  my  life.  I 
can  do  it  without  any  fear. 

In  the  first  place  I  know  that  to  die  is  to  be- 
gin to  live  ;  not  to  live  in  an  eternal  rapture  of 
contemplation,  but  to  live  truly.  I  believe  that 
the  dead  live  close  to  the  living,  invisible  but 
present,  and  perhaps  it  is  they  whom  God  sends 
us  in  response  to  our  prayers,  in  order  that 


AT  THE  BARRACKS  45 

their  spirit  which  is  His  spirit  may  guide  us 
and  inspire  us. 

And  then  I  hope  to  have  left  behind  me  in  a 
few  hearts  some  seeds  which  will  spring  up  in 
the  Lord's  good  time.  And  all  that  I  have 
lived  for,  all  that  I  wished  to  be  and  to  do  — 
all  that,  I  feel,  will  live  again  and  not  perish. 

Do  not  believe  because  you  and  others  re- 
main behind  without  taking  part  in  the  struggle 
that  you  are  useless  —  quite  the  contrary. 
There  is  something  you  can  do,  pray.  Pray 
for  those  who  have  left  for  the  front,  and  who 
need  to  be  upheld.  Pray  for  those  who  suffer. 
Pray  the  Master  to  send  laborers  into  His 
harvest.  Prayer  itself  is  a  struggle.  It  must 
be  a  combat  where  we  conquer  our  desires  and 
impulses  in  order  that  we  may  say  to  God, 
"  Thou,  thou  knowest  better  than  we  do  what 
is  necessary  for  us;  enable  us  to  place  all  in 
thy  hands,  knowing  that  thy  will,  whatever  it 
may  be,  is  a  will  of  infinité  love.'' 

I  speak  to  you  about  death,  because  I  am 
thinking  about  it,  because  my  entire  effort  is 
spent  in  preparing  for  it,  since  it  may  come. 
Whatever  happens,  remember,  "  He  shall  wipe 
away  every  tear  from  their  eyes."  But  I  have 
faith  in  life,  faith  in  God.     "  Fear  nothing, 


46       FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

only  believe."  Trust  Him  confidently,  and 
pray  also  on  behalf  of  those  who  are  fighting 
and  who  can  not,  themselves,  find  the  time  to 
pray  aright. 


Ill 

AT  THE  FRONT 


m 

AT  THE  FRONT 

Cahors  Station,  April  7th_,  8  P.  M. 
We  left  Montauban  at  4:21  p.  m.  We  are 
traveling  in  a  cattle  car,  thirty-two  of  us. 
Beautiful  weather.  Thus  far  good  trip.  Un- 
fortunately Cahors  lunch  counter  closed,  im- 
possible to  get  anything  hot. 

Châteauroux,  April  8th,  2  p.  m. 
Rained  all  night.  The  car  roof  leaked  and 
we  were  pretty  well  soaked.  Had  to  change 
cars  and  now  we  are  royally  settled  in  first- 
class  compartments.  Great  welcome  every- 
where ;  cars  bedecked  with  flowers  !  No  dra- 
goons at  the  station,  so  could  not  find  out  if 
the  fourth  squadron  is  still  at  Baccarat.^  All 
goes  well. 


1  Squadron  in  which  his  oldest  brother  was  serving 
as  brigadier. 

49 


50       FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

Troycs,  April  9th,  8  a.  m. 
Delightful  night  in  our  first-class  carriage, 
slept  like  a  king.  Everything  continues  to  go 
along  first  rate.  Able  to  have  a  good  wash 
and  shave  this  morning.  Going  on  in  the 
direction  of  Neufchâteau.     All's  well. 


Bar-le-Duc,  April  loth,  4  p.  m. 

We  arrived  here  last  night  at  10:15.  We 
were  all  snoozing  in  the  train,  w^hen  some  one 

cried,   *'  Le th  en  has."     Immediately  we 

were  getting  ready,  digging  out  knapsacks  and 
guns.  Many  men  had  paid  no  further  thought 
to  their  knapsacks  or  guns  since  leaving  Mon- 
tauban;  therefore  for  a  few  minutes  there  was 
an  admirable  little  ""  pagaille/' 

Finally  we  left  the  station  and  crossed  the 
city.  We  are  quartered  in  an  old  factory 
where  we  have  a  little  straw,  but  it  is  cold  as  a 
barn.  Having  no  blankets  we  were  freezing; 
slept  well  until  three  o'clock  just  the  same. 
Since  then  I  have  dressed  and  brushed  up. 
We  are  going  to  start  in  a  minute,  by  railway 
train  as  before,  for  the  front  which  is  only 
some  thirty-five  kilometers  away.  Naturally 
we  are  going  in  an  unknown  direction. 


AT  THE  FRONT  51 

Des  Armées  de  la  République, 

Sunday,  April  nth. 

Our  trip  ended  yesterday  afternoon,  and 
now  we  have  joined  our  regiment.  At  five 
o'clock  we  left  our  Bar-le-Duc  factory,  crossed 
the  city,  and  took  the  train.  Slowly,  at  an 
average  rate  of  fifteen  kilometers  an  hour 
perhaps,  we  passed  over  a  series  of  hills  in  the 
direction  of  Verdun.  It  rained,  it  snowed, 
it  froze;  but  soon  we  no  longer  thought  any- 
thing about  it.  Right  and  left  we  were  leav- 
ing behind  us  bombarded  and  burned  villages 
and  fields  ploughed  up  by  shells.  Everywhere 
there  were  shell  sockets,  empty  *'  boîtes  de 
singe''  small  lines  of  trenches  and  graves; 
graves  already  almost  levelled  by  the  rain  and 
wind,  bearing  a  modest  cross  of  wood,  most 
often  nameless,  and  here  and  there  adorned 
with  a  képi,  an  empty  socket  or  a  bayonet. 
How  sad  these  tombs  are,  half-hidden  in  the 
fields  which  are  becoming  green! 

At  eleven  o'clock  we  get  off  at  Souilly-sur- 
Meuse  at  about  twenty  or  twenty-five  kilo- 
meters from  Verdun,  whose  cannon  can  be 
heard  roaring.  It  is  raining.  The  roads  are 
covered  with  a  very  soft  chalky  mud  and 
everybody  is  more  or  less  plastered  with  it. 


52       FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

We  fall  into  line,  haversacks  on  our  backs, 
in  a  field,  and  we  start  off  for  the  cantonment. 
The  rain  has  stopped.  Between  the  clouds  the 
sun  risks  itself  a  little.  For  three  hours  and 
a  half  we  paddle  in  the  mud  and  finally  arrive 
at  Heippes-sur-Meuse,   where  we  still  are. 

Heippes  is  a  very  small  village  encircled  by 
hills.  Here  one  sees  soldiers  almost  exclu- 
sively. All  of  the  — th  Army  Corps  is  in  this 
region,  au  repos  for  the  first  time  since  the 
beginning.  What  is  going  to  be  done  with 
it?     No  one  knows. 

The  soldiers  are  horribly  dirty;  uniforms 
torn,  burned,  and  covered  with  mud.  That 
is  readily  understood,  when  one  sees  the  life 
they  lived  in  the  trenches,  sleeping  on  damp 
soil,  crawling  in  the  mire,  and  spattered  with 
mud  by  the  bursting  shells. 

My  company  is  quartered  in  a  large  barn. 
There  are  cows  below  us.  Above  and  to  the 
right  of  the  door  are  the  first  and  the  second 
sections,  sleeping  on  straw  and  having  for 
light  only  that  which  enters  by  the  door  or  by 
the  chinks  between  the  tiles.  A  little  farther 
up  and  to  the  left  are  the  other  two  sections. 
We  are  packed  one  against  the  other,  side  by 
side.     Plenty  of  water,  and  it  is  very  good; 


AT  THE  FRONT  58 

food  excellent  and  quite  abundant.  On  the 
whole  we  are  better  off  than  at  the  barracks 
and  I  have  slept  like  a  king;  but  —  there  are 
some  many-footed  inhabitants  of  all  colors, 
forms,  and  thicknesses. 

Naturally  we  receive  many  tips,  but  espe- 
cially this  one,  "  Lighten  your  sack  as  much 
as  possible."  Accordingly  we  throw  over- 
board C  balancer  '')  the  extra  shoes,  tent  pegs, 
kettle,  six  out  of  ten  biscuits,  two  of  the  three 
cans  of  preserves,  and,  as  soon  as  it  commences 
to  trouble  us,  the  sleeping-bag,  for  it  seems  the 
tent  canvas  is  a  good  substitute.  Just  imagine, 
thus  lightened  the  knapsack  still  weighs  from 
fifteen  to  twenty  kilos  and  in  addition  each 
one  of  us  carries  96  cartridges  though  we 
should  have  250. 

Above  Heippes  there  is  a  hill  which  the  Ger- 
mans were  occupying  and  which  was  captured 
between  the  6th  and  14th  of  September  by 
seven  regiments,  nearly  all  from  the  reserve. 
They  fought  bitterly.  And  on  the  summit 
is  any  number  of  graves.  They  say  there  are 
three  thousand  men  up  there,  French  as  well  as 
Germans. 

Over  the  principal  mound  there  is  a  cement 
block  bearing  a  tall  cross  of  carved  wood,  with 


Ô4      FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

inscriptions.  On  one  of  the  graves  there  is 
also  a  large  cross  of  white  wood  and  a  wreath 
with  these  words:  '^ En  souvenir  de  Roger 
Couve/' 

There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  fighting  in 
this  vicinity,  on  all  sides,  destroyed  and  burned 
villages.     It  is  frightfully  sad. 

But  I  will  go.  I  have  no  fear.  I  am  at 
peace.  I  feel  ready.  It  is  of  infinite  value 
to  me  to  know  that  the  prayers  and  thoughts  of 
those  who  love  me  follow  me  everywhere.  Be- 
sides have  we  not  said  : 

"Dans  la  joie  et  la  souffrance, 
Je  veux  te  suivre  en  tout  lieu, 
Toute  ma  vie  à  l'avance, 
Je  te  l'apporte,  ô  mon  Dieu  !  " 

Very  often  I  think  of  this  France  which  is 
going  to  come,  which  will  be  born  of  the  free- 
dom-bearing war.  It  is  necessary  that  she  un- 
derstand her  duty  to  be  human.  One  must 
know  what  he  is  and  what  he  is  doing  that  all 
may  live  in  the  conscious  presence  of  le  De- 
voir.^    It  is  not  a  case  of  having  a  duty  be- 

2  "The  English  sense  of  the  word  *  duty' — 
*  Stern  Daughter  of  the  Voice  of  God  * 
—  hardly  corresponds  to  that  of  the  beautiful  French 


AT  THE  FRONT  55 

cause  one  lives,  but  of  living  because  one  has 
a  duty;  and  in  so  much  as  one  has  one  and 
knows  it,  to  live  for  it. 

Enclosed  are  two  or  three  violets  from  here  : 
spring  is  everywhere  the  same  sweet,  fresh 
messenger  of  hope. 

Coure  elle  s-siir- Aire,  April  13th. 

Last  Monday  we  left  Heippes  in  order  to 
go  farther  south  to  Courcelles-sur-Aire, 
where  we  have  remained  ever  since. 

The  place  is  truly  charming,  in  the  midst  of 
its  circle  of  hills  and  bordered  by  small  groves 
of  ash  trees  and  firs.  The  weather  is  always 
delightfully  clear,  cool,  and  sunny.  Below 
the  village  runs  a  swift  stream  of  very  cold 
water,  the  Aire.  Yesterday  afternoon  I  spent 
two  or  three  hours  upon  its  bank  writing,  read- 
ing, and  doing  my  washing.     Besides  I  gath- 

word  devoir,  which  recurs  so  often  in  these  letters  and 
which  signified  in  chivalry  the  devout  and  willing,  as 
well  as  faithful  fulfilment  of  knightly  obligation. 
Devoir  was  the  watchword  of  this  young  hero's  life, 
and  in  the  letters  which  follow,  it  stands  out 
for  all  that  free  and  joyful  service  which  it  was  his 
heart's  desire  to  render,  not  only  to  the  land  that 
claimed  his  earthly  allegiance,  but  to  the  Kingdom  of 
God."— G.  W.  Mackintosh. 


56      FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

ered  a  quantity  of  wild  chicory  for  salad.  If 
it  is  still  as  fine  this  afternoon  and  We  are 
free,  I  shall  return  there  to  fish. 

Five  or  six  of  us  have  clubbed  together  for 
mess,  a  sort  of  cooperative  society.  Each 
brings  his  contribution.  Thus  yesterday  we 
had,  besides  the  regulation  soup  and  meat,  a 
wild  chicory  salad  with  two  hard  boiled  eggs, 
some  fried  minnows,  wine,  and  milk  —  truly  a 
feast  for  a  king. 

I  have,  as  they  say,  discovered  the  filon 
("struck  ore").  My  regiment,  being  from 
the  South,  drinks  a  great  deal  of  wine,  and 
from  the  moment  of  its  -arrival  at  the  en- 
campment all  the  men  make  a  rush  on  the  wine 
merchants,  the  grocers,  and  even  the  inhabit- 
ants :  result,  impossible  to  be  served.  So  while 
the  others  are  scrambling  for  wine,  I  hurry 
off  to  look  for  some  milk,  and,  if  possible,  one 
or  two  eggs.  So  much  the  better,  because  the 
milk  is  very  good  around  here  and  I  prefer  it 
to  wine. 

Notwithstanding  my  fears,  last  night  was  as 
restful  as  the  preceding  ones.  The  straw  was 
plainly  damp  ;  but  I  slept  upon  my  doubled  up 
tent  canvas,  rolled  up  in  my  good  blanket, 
with  my  head  upon  the  knapsack,  and  I  was  as 


AT  THE  FRONT  57 

happy  as  a  prince.  We  are,  however,  so 
closely  packed  against  each  other  that  it  is 
necessary  to  sleep  on  the  side,  and  I  had  all 
the  difficulty  in  the  world  turning  over  during 
the  night. 

In  the  morning,  jus  exquis  (excellent 
coffee).  It  had  been  freezing,  the  sky  was 
fresh  and  blue,  and  without  thinking  I  com- 
menced to  whistle  Grieg's  *'  Matin  "  with  all 
my  might. 

Seven  o'clock,  corvée  (fatigue  duty)  after 
wood.  There  were  twenty  of  us.  We  did 
practically  nothing  for  two  hours  except  to 
warm  ourselves  in  the  sun  and  breathe  the  pure 
air.  At  nine  o'clock  we  came  back  slowly 
with  our  wood.  It  was  while  on  corvée  duty 
that  I  gathered  the  enclosed  violets. 

The  report  has  just  been  read;  that  is  to 
say,  the  lieutenant  has  announced  that  there 
is  nothing  to  report!     Drill  this  afternoon. 

April  14th. 
We  are  still  at  Courcelles,  and  they  are  not 
yet  talking  of  sending  us  away;  but  it  is  alto- 
gether plain  that  we  shall  not  remain  here  long. 
The  cannon  commenced  their  fire  this  morn- 
ing.    We  are  doing  next  to  nothitig,  eating 


08       FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

well,  and  sleeping  the  same.  If  this  régime 
continues  it  will  not  be  long  before  we  are 
big  and  fat. 

Yesterday  at  one  p.  m.  started  off  without 
knapsack,  canteen,  or  musette.  We  climbed 
slowly  the  hills  opposite.  Then  we  were  sent 
to  the  edge  of  the  trenches  which  are  up  there, 
made  to  examine  them,  and  finally  went 
through  some  combination  drills,  returning  by 
four  o'clock. 

Here,  also,  there  was  much  fighting  during 
the  battle  of  the  Marne.  Here  our  right  wing 
drove  back  the  German  left.  In  every  direc- 
tion there  are  shell  craters,  shell  sockets, 
splinters  from  bursted  shells,  fuse  caps,  load- 
ers, crushed  canteens,  and  torn  knapsacks. 
And  then  the  graves  —  !  Here  and  there  one 
sees  a  cross  or  simply  some  trenches,  where 
the  bodies  have  been  thrown,  and  which  later 
have  been  filled  in. 

But  life  is  taking  on  more  and  more  its 
normal  course.  The  engineering  corps  has  re- 
paired the  bridges  and  the  roads  ;  little  by  little 
the  inhabitants  have  begun  rebuilding;  bom- 
barded dwellings  are  being  repaired  tempora- 
rily, the  walls  reen forced  and  covered  with  a 
makeshift  roof. 


AT  THE  FRONT  59 

Many  of  the  fields  are  being  ploughed, 
seeded,  and  irrigated.  Grain  is  coming  up. 
Yesterday  evening  on  returning  from  drill  we 
found  ourselves  face  to  face  with  an  old,  old 
peasant,  very  wrinkled,  but  who  was  straight- 
ening himself  up  proudly  to  sow  the  field  which 
his  children  could  no  longer  cultivate.  Though 
older,  he  resembled  "  The  Sower  "  of  Burnand. 
It  was  truly  an  impressive  sight. 

This  afternoon,  again,  we  went  out  on  drill. 
We  did  barely  more  than  ten  kilometers,  in  a 
slight  sprinkle  of  rain.  For  my  part,  I  found 
the  tramp  delightful;  the  country  is  beautiful, 
there  are  interesting  things  to  sec,,  and  it  is 
an  excellent  exercise. 

April  15th. 
Throughout  the  day,  an  important  move- 
ment of  troops  has  taken  place  in  our  neigh- 
borhood. From  6 130  a.  m.  regiments  passed, 
headed  by  their  bands.  Then  passed  the  motor 
trucks,  the  ambulances,  the  artillery,  the  cav- 
alry, and  still  more  infantry.  During  the 
afternoon,  from  time  to  time,  troops  were  still 
going  by.  Moreover,  we  are  asking  ourselves 
if  we  shall  not  be  leaving  in  our  turn  this  night 
or  tomorrow. 


60       FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  this  afternoon  they  came 
after  us  at  the  mornent  we  were  going  to  start 
drill.  We.  were  taken  back  to  cantonment 
rapidly,  and  there  took  place  the  fete  of  the 
battalion,  .which  was  not  to  have  been  cele- 
brated until  Saturday  nextî 

There  were  foot  races  (lOO  meters  flat) 
and  wrestling.  I  ran,  but  having  fallen,  came 
in  only  second  in  the  semi-final,  and  won  a 
pencil  for  my  trouble! 

This  morning  I  took  a  tramp  on  the  hills. 
It  was  truly  delightful.  The  weather  was 
fine  and  warm.  All  the  valley  was  bathed  in 
a  blue  haze,  almost  transparent,  and  the  mo- 
tionless poplars  seemed  to  be  tall  pages  sleep- 
ing beside  the  silvery  road  which  wound 
through  this  garden  of  the  "  Belle  au  Bois 
Dorrr^ant."  One  heard  only  the  larks,  and 
the  formidable  bass  of  the  cannon  which  have 
not  ceased  booming  all  day  long. 

At  .one  o'clock  off  for  drill.  It  was  very 
hot.  At  first  we  skirted  the  side  of  the  hill, 
then  we  passed  over  the  summit,  and  into  a 
grove  where  we  halted.  It  was  in  that  spot 
(there  had  been  hot  fighting  there)  that  I 
gathered  the  periwinkles  and  anemones  en- 
closed. 


AT  THE  FRONT  61 

The  periwinkles  made  me  think  of  Moraja;  ^ 
you  recall  the  alley  which  led  from  the  terrace 
of  the  Mabilles'  house  to  the  little  gate  under 
the  eucalyptus! 

Poor  mission  fields!  I  often  think  of 
Francis  Monod.  Could  you  send  me  the 
Journal  des  Missions f  Could  father  also 
write  a  word  to  our  chaplain  in  order  to  tell 
him  where  I  am? 

Could  R.  send  me  the  words  of  Stevenson's 
"  Requiem  "  ?  I  like  it  so  much,  especially  the 
music,  that  I  should  like  to  try  to  translate 
it. 

Do  not  be  astonished  that  my  style  and  ideas, 
are  so  flowery;  while  writing  I  am  support- 
ing the  paper  on  my  canteen.  It  is  true  that 
it  has  contained  only  milk  for  the  last  three 
■days  ! 

April  1 6th. 
We  thought  that  we  would  start  last  night, 
but  for  a  change  we  are  still  here.  Beautiful 
day  as  usual,  and  ideal  temperature.  The  can- 
non of  Verdun  are  no  longer  heard,  but  to 
be  sure  the  wind  is  now  always  from  the  west. 

3  The   mission   station   in    Basutoland   where  he   was 
born  and  lived  several  years, 


62       FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

Therefore  everything  is  perfectly  calm  except 
for  the  autobuses  and  motor  trucks  which  pass 
almost  without  interruption.  Moreover,  there 
are  aides-de-camp  going  and  coming  all  the 
time.  Finally,  they  have  notified  us  that  we 
are  in  cantonnement  d'alerte  until  further  no- 
tice. 

This  afternoon,  bayonet  drill.  As  two  cor- 
porals were  missing  R.  and  I  (the  two 
'' hlens"  of  the  squad)  had  to  replace  them 
as  monitors.  You  can  see  us  making  a  bunch 
of  old  veterans  work,  none  of  whom  were  un- 
der forty  years  of  age! 

Finally,  for  the  second  part  of  the  program, 
there  were  some  games.  We  played  barres 
and  petits  paquets.  These  soldiers  (many  of 
them  territorials)  formed  an  astonishing  spec- 
tacle running  after  each  other  and  enjoying 
themselves  like  little  kids! 

Besides,  the  funniest  part  of  it  was  that 
when  we  had  had  enough  of  it  and  wished  to 
stop,  the  non-commissioned  officer  shouted  at 
us,  "  If  you  do  not  play,  I  will  run  you  all  in." 
And  what's  more  he  would  have  done  it. 

We  sleep  all  night  and  sometimes  during 
the  daytime.  We  eat  at  all  hours,  whenever 
anything  comes  our  way.     When  it  is  our  turn, 


AT  THE  FRONT  63 

we  go  on  corvée  duty.  This  morning,  for 
instance,  I  commenced  by  sweeping  the  road 
in  front  of  the  post  and  cleaning  the  borders 
of  the  said  post,  after  which  I  picked  up  the 
old  bones,  tin  cans,  bread  crusts,  and  papers 
which  were  wandering  around  the  camp.  We 
are  passed  in  reviews,  we  drill,  etc, 

Sunday,  April  i8th. 

I  would  have  liked  to  be  able  to  attend 
church  service  today,  for  there  must  be  one 
in  some  part  of  the  sector.  But  I  was  unable 
to  find  out  where,  and  it  would  have  done  me 
no  good  anyway,  for  we  have  been  told  to  be 
ready  to  move  any  hour  of  the  day  or  night 
without  previous  warning.  Consequently  the 
men  must  not  go  more  than  500  meters  from 
camp. 

I  assure  you  that  the  long  rest  begins  to 
wear  on  me,  and  that  I  would  much  rather  be 
doing  something.  All  the  more  since  the  can- 
non of  Verdun  are  again  heard,  and  it  is  hor- 
rible to  think  that  while  one  is  here  doing 
nothing  there  are  those  who,  very  near  us,  are 
being  killed.  More  and  more  in  the  face  of 
those  who  have  struggled  and  who  are  dead, 
in  the  presence  of  the  immense  effort  which 


64       FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

has  been  made,  I  think  of  the  France  which 
is  to  come,  of  the  divine  France  which  must  be. 
I  could  not  fight  if  I  did  not  hope  in  the  birth 
of  that  France  for  whom  it  will  have  been 
worth  while  to  kill  and  to  be  killed. 

I  try  to  profit  from  these  days  of  rest  in 
order  to  prepare  myself  still  more.  I  have 
time  to  read  and  meditate.  In  the  morning  I 
try  to  slip  away  to  the  hillside  to  pray,  and  in 
the  evening  I  pass  a  moment  in  church  where 
a  few  soldiers  come. 

If  you  knew  how  I  regret  not  having  known 
how  to  live  and  serve  my  Sunday  school  boys, 
my  Boy  Scouts,  and  my  friends!  But  re- 
gretting serves  no  purpose.  My  heart  is  full 
to  overflowing  of  things  I  should  like  to  say 
to  those  who  suffer,  who  weep,  who  wait,  and 
hope. 

For  me  the  military  life  has  simplified  every- 
thing. Things  have  taken  on  their  true  values 
and  full  significance.  Some  difficulties  which 
seemed  insurmountable  have  disappeared.  In- 
tellectual sacrifices  which  I  thought  I  could 
never  accept  have  taken  place  almost  of  them- 
selves, without  a  pang.  And  there  results  a 
new  vitality,  a  desire  for  intense  action.     And 


AT  THE  FRONT  65 

then,  there  is  always  peace.  However,  I  fear 
this  peace  both  for  myself  and  for  those  I 
love,  because  too  often  it  is  only  human.  By 
this  I  mean  that  it  is  weakness  and  resigna- 
tion, in  place  of  being  the  full  consciousness 
of  a  positive  duty  and  a  real  force.  And  I 
often  pray  as  follows  for  myself  and  for  those 
I  love: 

Lord,  our  God,  our  loving  Father,  stir  up 
our  souls  in  order  that  they  may  not  be  Hke 
stagnant  waters.  Do  not  permit  us  to  sleep 
in  a  cowardly  security,  in  a  lifeless  calm,  be- 
Heving  that  it  is  peace.  On  the  other  hand, 
give  our  hearts  the  power  to  suffer  intensely  in 
communion  with  all  grief,  to  revolt  against  all 
injustice,  to  be  thrilled  by  the  appeal  of  every 
noble  and  holy  cause.  Lord,  our  Christ,  thy 
Son,  suffered.  He  wept  over  the  death  of 
His  friend.  He  wept  over  thy  rebellious  peo- 
ple. He  wept  over  His  work  which  threat- 
ened to  end  with  His  earthly  life.  But  He 
lived  so  intensely  and  humanly  that  He  was 
able  to  say  to  us  men,  "  I  am  the  life.'*  Lord, 
make  our  hearts  alive.  Then  will  thy  peace 
descend  upon  them,  not  as  the  snow  which  be- 
numbs and  freezes,  but  as  the  warmth  of  the 


66       FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

sun  which  revives  the  sap  in  the  very  veins  of 
the  earth.  O  Lord,  may  thy  Peace  be  with  us  ; 
thy  peace  and  not  the  peace  of  men.     Amen. 

April  20th. 

Upon  the  sparse  grass  behind  the  barn,  in 
the  shade  (?)  of  some  plum  trees  which  as 
yet  are  only  in  bud,  there  are  some  thirty  men 
stretched  out  face  downward,  or,  with  their 
képi  over  their  eyes,  flat  on  their  backs. 
Nearly  all  are  sleeping;  I  alone  am  writing. 
If  it  were  not  for  a  delightfully  refreshing 
breeze  from  the  northwest,  nothing  would  re- 
main in  the  skull  but  a  "  thick  and  blood- 
streaked  paste"  (bouille  épaisse  et  sanguinol- 
ente), as  my  neighbor  Corporal  A.,  says. 

Those  who  are  not  here  are  snoring  their 
loudest  in  the  stable,  except  for  some  philos- 
ophers who  are  fishing  from  the  bank  of  the 
little  stream. 

The  bank  of  this  brook  is  a  Utopian  spot. 
Unhappily  it  is  200  meters  from  the  canton- 
ment and  if  you  go  to  sleep  there  and  miss  the 
drill  hour,  no  one  will  go  to  wake  you  up. 
Result:  eight  days  in  the  guard  house. 

By  the  way,  the  prison  is  a  most  original 
affair.     Normally  the  prisoners  are  kept   in 


AT  THE  FRONT  67 

the  lock-up,  some  room  of  the  cantonment. 
But  as  they  are  very  numerous  at  this  time 
— ''rapport  aio  vin'' — the  prisoners  are  en- 
closed (?)  in  a  square  traced  upon  the  ground 
with  the  bayonet  by  the  chief  of  the  guard. 
At  the  four  corners  of  this  original  cell, 
guards  are  stationed  with  fixed  bayonets,  and 
a  corporal  is  appointed  chief  jailer!  Now  I 
return  to  my  brook. 

It  passes  through  some  fields,  sometimes 
bordered  with  bushes  and  reeds,  sometimes 
with  quite  high  trees.  There  it  certainly  is 
fine.  I  went  down  there  a  few  minutes  ago 
to  wash.  It  is  very  picturesque,  this  view 
of  the  soldiers'  torsos  against  the  green  of  the 
meadows  ! 

One  would  scarcely  expect  such  descriptions 
from  a  warrior.  But  all  we  are  doing  is  eat- 
ing,  sleeping,   drilling,   reading,   and  writing. 

April  22,  191 5. 
My  dear  Friends  :  * 

From  the  front  where  I  am  often  thinking 
of  you  I  send  a  message  of  affectionate  en- 

*  Letter  addressed  to  the  group  of  Scouts  which  he 
had  founded  at  Montauban,  supplied  by  the  chief  of 
the  troop,  Mr.  Garrisson. 


68       FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

couragement.  You  have  before  you  a  mag- 
nificent task.  Your  fathers,  your  brothers, 
and  your  friends  have  fought  and  are  fighting 
still  in  order  to  protect  the  soil  of  France,  and 
especially  in  order  to  make  the  French  spirit 
of  righteousness,  justice,  and  liberty  victori- 
ous. They  will  make  it  triumph  beyond  our 
borders;  it  is  up  to  you  to  make  it  the  spirit 
of  our  entire  Patrie,  that  each  Frenchman 
may  have  only  one  ideal  :  to  bring  in  the  reign 
of  justice. 

While  looking  at  some  soldiers'  tombs,  I 
was  repeating  to  myself  these  words  :  "  They 
did  not  love  their  life,  they  had  no  fear  of 
death."  Their  duty  was  to  die  if  necessary. 
When  they  received  the  order,  ''A  l'assaut!'' 
they  saw  the  enemy  at  the  loopholes  of  the 
trenches  ready  to  deal  certain  death,  almost 
at  the  end  of  the  muzzle,  and  they  charged 
without  hesitation.  Many  died;  the  rest  are 
conquerors. 

Your  duty,  yours,  is  to  live  —  not  as  plants 
and  animals,  that  merely  exist,  but  as  men  who 
hc(ve  a  purpose  in  life  and  struggle  to  attain 
it.  Our  elders  had  no  fear  of  death;  you 
should  not  fear  to  live.  For  you  to  live  means 
to  be  as  well  and  as  vigorous  as  possible,  to 


AT  THE  FRONT  6^ 

be  as  straightforward,  as  loyal,  as  faithful,  as 
devoted  to  others,  and  as  pure  as  lies  within 
your  power.  That  means  to  try  very  hard 
each  day  to  do,  not  one  good  turn,  but  only 
good  turns.  In  fact  that  means  to  be  true 
scouts,  men  who  blaze  the  way  for  others,  in 
order  to  show  them  how  one  must  live  and 
where  to  find  the  strength  to  live  aright. 

If  you  accept  this  ideal,  your  elders  will  not 
have  suffered  in  vain,  and  you  will  have  the 
right  in.  your  turn  to  enter  the  race.  There- 
fore let  your  watchword  be  ''  Faithful  even 
unto  death."  Unto  death  —  that  is  to  say, 
during  all  our  life  we  will  remain  faithful  to 
Him  who  has  shown  us  what  a  man's  life  can 
and  must  be;  we  will  remain  faithful  to  the 
Christ,  the  supreme  Scout. 

I  wish  you  one  and  all  to  be  able  to  live  thus. 
Your  friend  and  brother  Scout. 

April  25th. 
Thursday  morning,  arose  at  half-past  three. 
At  five-thirty  we  were  off.  It  was  beautiful 
weather,  and  one  could  march  without  fatigue, 
but  the  day  promised  to  be  hot.  As  a  mat-' 
ter  of  fact,  the  heat  increased  little  by  little 
and  the  dust  became  thicker.     But  there  was 


70       FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

a  cool  breeze  striking  us  from  the  side,  which 
carried  away  the  dust,  and  as  I  was  marching 
on  the  side  of  the  column,  I  did  not  receive 
any. 

We  made  few  halts  —  five  minutes  every 
hour,  and  we  were  marching  relatively  fast, 
considering  the  stops  necessary  because  of  the 
crowded  four  corners.  We  crossed  many  vil- 
lages and  small  cities  which  have  been  de- 
stroyed —  Vaubécourt,  Rambercourt,  etc. 
Finally  toward  one  o'clock,  wx  reached  Lai- 
mont,  having  covered  about  thirty  kilometers. 
They  lodged  us  in  a  barn,  and  there  we  spent 
the  night  and  the  following  day. 

Friday  evening  we  left  at  eight-thirty,  tak- 
ing the  train  four  kilometers  away,  at 
Revigny,  in  cattle  cars.  We  were  forty-four 
in  each  car  and  the  maximum  capacity  is  forty. 
To  sit  down  each  had  only  the  space  occupied 
by  his  knapsack  on  the  floor  of  the  car,  and 
one  slept  with  his  head  supported  upon  his 
knees  —  not  very  comfortable!  The  night 
was  relatively  calm. 

Little  by  little,  we  approached  Paris,  and 
soon  one  could  make  out  the  Eiffel  Tower,  not- 
withstanding the  mist.  We  came  to  a  stand- 
still in  the  Noisy-le-Sec  station  and  remained 


AT  THE  FRONT  71 

there  about  thirty  minutes.^  Then  we  de- 
parted by  way  of  Creil,  toward  the  north. 

The  hours  passed  very  slowly.  Happily  I 
had  some  lectures  of  Mr.  Raoul  Allier  to 
read,  which  I  received  from  the  Federation. 
We  were  installed  for  the  night,  but  at  nine 
o'clock  réveil  sounded  suddenly.  It  was  neces- 
sary to  leap  from  the  train,  equip  ourselves 
in  all  haste,  and  form  up  on  the  platform. 
Then  it  was  a  departure  into  the  dark  night. 
A  fine  cold  rain  fell  which  pierced  to  the  skin. 
On  the  outskirts  of  the  village  of  Agricourt  in 
the  Somme  Département  we  heard  the  cannon 
very  near;  we  even  saw  the  reflection  of  the 
firing. 

The  first  two  villages  to  which  we  came  were 
already  full  of  soldiers.  It  was  necessary  to 
start  off  again  in  the  rain.  New  wandering 
Jews,  grumbling  over  the  humidity  and  fa- 
tigue (we  had  just  spent  twenty-three  hours 
on  the  train),  we  went  from  village  to  village, 
finding  soldiers  everywhere  and  no  room  left. 

Finally  we  found  a  cantonment  and  there 


*  Speaking  of  the  passage  through  the  station  of 
Noisy-le-Sec,  in  a  letter  to  a  friend,  he  added  :  "  Eleven 
kilometers  from  home  !  You  can  understand  how  it 
made  my  heart  swell  a  bit  !  " 


72      FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

was  fresh  straw  in  abundance.  But  it  was 
four  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  we  had  been 
on  the  march  since  9:30  p.  m.,  almost  never 
halting  and  in  the  rain  !  Bunches  of  men  had 
stopped  along  the  way,  having  neither  the 
strength  nor  the  courage  to  go  farther.  I 
don't  know  how  I  stuck  it  out  jiisqu'  à  bout 
(to  the  end).  Exhausted  by  the  railway 
journey,  famished,  with  shoulders  raw  from 
the  fact  that  the  straps  of  my  knapsack  were 
too  narrow,  I  said  to  myself  many  times,  *'  I 
flop  down  here."  And  yet  I  managed  to  hold 
out  to  the  end.  But  as  soon  as  I  had  my  shoes 
and  clothes  off,  I  rolled  up  in  my  blanket  and 
immediately  fell  asleep. 

Sunday  morning  we  did  not  arise  until 
noon,  and  as  soon  as  mess  was  swallowed  we 
had  to  dry  our  soaked  clothes,  clean  our  guns 
carefully,  and  install  ourselves  in  the  canton- 
ment. Finally  evening  arrived  without  my 
having  had  more  than  fifteen  minutes  of  rest, 
during  which  time  I  hastily  went  through  my 
personal  devotions. 

On  the  other  hand  yesterday  I  was  very 
quiet.  I  received  Foi  et  Vie  and  some  of  Mr. 
Allier 's  lectures.     I  enjoyed  them  very  much 


AT  THE  FRONT  73 

and  passed  them  around  somewhat  among  my 
comrades. 

Yesterday  afternoon  I  was  called  by  Major 
Ch.  Schmuckel.  He  proposed  to  take  me  into 
the  1st  Battalion,  and  since  this  morning  I 
have  been  assigned  to  the  4th  Company. 

My  new  battalion  is  the  most  distinguished 

of  the Army.     The  Major  is  very  much 

loved  because  he  is  fair  and  always  ready  to 
render  service.  He  is  an  excellent  man  with 
a  high  sense  of  duty,  as  he  proved  by  leading 
his  men  to  the  attack  of  the  S.K.  trench  at 
Perthes  in  such  a  masterful  manner  that  his 
battalion  was  cited  in  a  w^ar  order  and  deco- 
rated with  ""  la  croix  de  guerre/'  ^ 


^  The  Chief  of  the  battalion,  Charles  Schmuckel,  Com- 
mandant en  second  of  the  military  school  of  St.  Maixent, 
had  been  cited  à  l'ordre  de  l'armée  in  these  terms  : 
"  Thanks  to  his  skill  and  admirable  enthusiasm  with 
which  he  knew  how  to  inspire  his  battalion,  he  has  sucr- 
ceeded  in  capturing  strongly  fortified  and  defended 
works.  By  his  energy,  his  ardent  spirit  on  the  offensive 
and  his  remarkable  spirit  of  decision,  he  hurled  back 
some  very  bitter  counter-attacks  of  the  enemy,  succeed- 
ing, not  only  in  maintaining  conquered  territory,  but 
also  in  gaining  ground." 

Fell  on  the  field  of  honor,  at  Anzin-St.  Aubin,  the 
15th  of  May. 


74      FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

We  are  held  in  reserve  and  very  severely 
restricted  in  the  cantonment.  They  fear  that 
we  may  be  located  by  enemy  aeroplanes  and 
as  soon  as  one  of  them  is  signalled,  they  notify 
us  by  three  bugle  calls.  Then  every  one  has 
to  hunt  cover.  We  are  still  waiting  until  they 
need  us  for  un  coup  de  main. 

April  26th. 

I  have  nothing  to  tell  you.  My  life  is 
empty,  made  up  of  drill  and  more  especially  of 
rest.  But  this  only  apparently  so.  I  feel 
that  I  am  living  ardently  and  intensely. 
Never  have  I  lived  with  such  keenness,  even 
in  civil  life.  There  is  within  me  a  very  vol- 
cano of  emotions  and  ideas.  Certainly  I 
shall  never  be  the  same  as  before. 

I  would  like  you  to  read  some  of  Raoul  Al- 
lier's  lectures  —  the  list  is  found  in  Le  Chris- 
tianisme—  and  an  article  by  Pierre  Chavan- 
nes  in  Foi  et  Vie  (April  15,  191 5)  entitled 
"  Emmaiis,  meditation  Idique"  The  entire 
article  is  worth  studying  closely,  for  it  is  mag- 
nificent. You  will  find  in  it  some  ideas  which 
are  troubling  me  at  this  very  minute. 

I  am  much  concerned  as  to  the  legitimacy  of 
this  war.     I  have  confidence  that  our  cause 


AT  THE  FRONT  75 

is  just  and  good,  and  that  we  have  the  right 
on  our  side.  But  it  is  necessary  that  this  war 
should  be  fruitful  and  that  from  all  these 
deaths  a  new  life  should  spring  forth  for  hu- 
manity. 

I  am  thinking  incessantly  of  the  France  of 
tomorrow,  of  this  young  France  awaiting  its 
hour.  It  is  absolutely  essential  that  it  should 
be  a  consecrated  France,  where  each  person 
shall  have  but  one  reason  for  being  —  le  De- 
voir, Every  one  will  live  only  in  so  much  as 
he  understands  his  duty  and  struggles  to  ac- 
complish it.  And  it  is  up  to  us  Protestants, 
or  rather  to  us  "  believers,"  to  reveal  this  new 
life  to  the  world.  It  is  our  duty  to  be  apostles  ; 
and  that  duty  is  clear,  for  Jesus  defined  it: 
**  Ye  therefore  shall  be  perfect  as  your 
heavenly  Father  is  perfect."  Perfect  in  our- 
selves: which  means  to  develop  our  personality 
jusqu'  à  bout,  to  make  it  give  all  that  it  can 
give,  to  push  it  even  to  the  perfect  stature  of 
Christ.  And  then  perfect  in  others  (for  we 
believe  with  all  our  might  in  the  communion 
of  the  saints,  do  we  not?)  :  which  signifies  to 
pray  for  others,  in  order  that  they  may  know 
how  to  submit  their  conscience  and  their  will 
to  the  royal  will  of  God, 


76       FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

April  27th. 

You  can  not  realize  the  intensity  "of  my  life 
at  the  present  time,  during  these  hours  of  rest, 
blessed  hours,  in  which  self-imposed  tasks 
shaped  by  traditional  formulas  and  moulds 
have  been  replaced  by  a  free  development  of 
the  soul. 

I  have  often  dreamed  of  this  hour,  when 
I  should  enter  into  the  reality  of  life.  But 
I  did  not  believe  that  it  would  come  so  soon. 
And  now  I  am  enjoying  it  profoundly. 

The  only  thing  which  I  regret  is  not  to  have 
time  enough  to  coordinate  my  thoughts. 
That  will  take  place  naturally,  little  by  little, 
and  the  links  between  my  ideas  then  will  be 
vital,  and  organic,  no  longer  artificial.  But 
what  a  lack  of  tranquillity  for  praying  aright. 

Pray  for  me  and  ask  God  that  I  may  have 
the  patience  necessary  to  await  at  this  time 
the  hour  of  going  under  fire,  and  to  await 
well. 

April  28th. 

This  afternoon  the  fête  of  our  Company 

takes  place.     There  will  be  songs,  choruses, 

recitations,  etc.     A  pretty  little  stage  has  been 

decorated  with  pine  boughs  and  it  seems  there 


AT  THE  FRONT  77 

are  some  artistes  who  are  quite  good.  But 
we  were  not  permitted  to  go  unless  we  left  all 
together  in  column  by  four.  Those  who  were 
not  ready  had  to  remain  at  the  cantonment,  as 
has  been  the  case  with  me. 

I  had  finished  putting  on  my  knapsack,  and 
was  binding  the  shaky  edifice  with  the  last 
strap,  when  the  whole  thing  collapsed  in  my 
hands.  The  strap  buckles  had  given  way  all 
at  once.  So  I  had  to  mend  them  all  and  it 
required  too  much  time  to  be  ready  at  the  ap- 
pointed hour. 

Here  I  have  found  my  comrade  D.,  which 
pleases  me  very  much.  He  is  a  very  fine  lad, 
originally  from  Papeete,  and  a  student  in  the 
Bordeaux  High  School  of  Commerce.  He 
knows  the  missionaries  Moreau  and  Vernier 
very  well. 

April  28th. 

It  is  wonderfully  fine,  at  a  moment  like  this, 
to  feel  that  there  are  others  around  us  and 
behind  us,  who  have  the  same  ideal  as  our- 
selves and  are  following  the  same  "  Marche  à 
rEtoile."  Others  besides  us,  if  we  can  not 
do  it,  will  labor  at  the  great  task  of  conquer- 
ing the  world  for  its  King,  our  King.     Others 


78       FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

will  be  able  to  raise  high  the  torch  which  we 
had  dreamed  of  carrying  forward. 

Others  —  but  I  have  too  much  faith  in  life 
and  its  value  to  pause  at  this  hypothesis.  I 
do  not  wish  to  prepare  myself  for  death,  but 
for  life — for  life  eternal,  without  doubt,  but 
more  immediately  for  the  life  on  earth.  Cer- 
tainly when  I  return,  like  every  one  else,  I  shall 
have  to  be  different;  I  shall  no  longer  have 
the  right  to  be  what  I  was  before.  Otherwise 
how  would  the  war  have  served  me?  Have 
we  not  this  conviction,  that  it  is  necessary  to 
renew  humanity?  And  is  it  not  our  duty  to 
be  renewed,  ourselves,  first  of  all? 

And  to  begin  with,  it  seems  to  me  that  we 
must  develop  and  infinitely  enlarge  the  con- 
ception of  our  ministry.  Pastors,  yes,  no 
doubt  (I  take  the  term  in  the  sense  in  which 
it  is  currently  used  today,  that  is  to  say,  as 
guides,  preachers,  and  counsellors  of  a  par- 
ish)—  we  must  be  that,  and  missionaries  also. 
But  we  must  be  more  than  that,  we  must  be 
men;  still  more,  apostles.  We  must  shine  be- 
yond our  circle  and  group  around  us  all  men 
of  good  will.  In  addition,  we  must  struggle 
that  every  will  with  which  we  come  in  contact 
may  become  a  good  will. 


AT  THE  FRONT  79 

First,  there  will  be  our  preaching  to  change. 
All  that  consists  in  empty  formulas,  beautiful 
as  they  may  be,  powerfully  as  they  may  have 
contributed  to  nourish  souls;  all  the  formulas 
which  are  today  empty  because  our  philosophic 
or  religious  thought,  our  experiences  or  our 
conception  of  life  have  outgrown  them  or 
caused  them  to  burst  their  frames  —  all  such 
formulas  must  disappear.  And  what  we  shall 
substitute  for  them  as  our  statement  of  faith 
will  be  not  less  great,  not  less  beautiful,  not 
less  true,  if  we  search  for  it  in  the  depths  of 
souls  in  union  with  God.  And  it  will  not  be 
less  Christian,  for  the  Spirit  of  Christ  is  a 
spirit  which  lives,  which  develops  —  never  re- 
maining for  a  moment  in  any  fixed  form. 

Our  spiritual  ministry  must  include  a  spe- 
cial concern  for  the  young.  Without  doubt, 
we  always  must  speak,  and  indefatigably,  of 
consolation  and  hope.  But  our  church  must 
not  become  an  asylum  of  the  hopeless  and  the 
crushed.  Above  all,  it  is  necessary  to  speak 
of  life,  which  is  summed  up  in  this  one  word: 
Ic  Devoir.  A  total  consecration  to  its  com- 
plete duty  must  be  the  life  of  the  new  human- 
ity. 

They  have  just  announced  to  us  that  we 


80       FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

are  to  leave  this  evening;  whither,  I  have  no 
idea.  Therefore  I  shall  doubtless  bé  obliged 
to  shorten  my  letter.  Probably  we  are  going 
nearer  to  the  firing  line. 

You  will  find  attached  a  clipping  from  a 
sermon  of  Georges  Lauga,  concerning  the  in- 
fluence of  men  after  death  —  just  a  little 
memorandum  for  you  to  use  as  you  like.  In 
my  letter  to  L.  I  forgot  an  idea  to  which  I 
attach  considerable  importance:  the  develop- 
ment of  one's  own  personality.  I  refer  you 
to  three  lectures  by  Raoul  Allier,  entitled 
''  Semeurs  de  vie,"  ''  Dans  le  mystère  de 
l'ame/'  and  "La  mystérieuse  conquête/' 

Finally  there  remains  prayer.  We  have  al- 
ready spoken  of  it,  but  the  subject  is  inex- 
haustible. I  do  not  refer  to  prayer  of  inter- 
cession for  others,  that  they  may  know  how 
to  shape  their  lives  to  the  Father's  will  of  in- 
finite love  and  that  their  vision  of  the  duty  to 
accomplish  may  be  ever  clearer  and  more 
vivid. 

There  is  also  prayer  for  ourselves.  We 
must  pray  to  be  pardoned.  Pardon  is  at  first 
the  destruction  of  habits  and  associations  of 
ideas  which  grow  in  us  so  as  to  paralyze  us. 
Briefly,  we  must  ask  God  to  renew  our  liberty 


AT  THE  FRONT  81 

without  ceasing.  Speaking  on  this  subject, 
do  you  recall  the  conclusion  of  the  course  of 
lectures  by  Mr.  Bois  on  liberty  and  in  particu- 
lar that  we  are  free  at  each  moment  of  the 
volitional  act? 

There  is  more  than  that  in  pardon  :  to  believe 
that  God  is  love  is  to  imply  that  He  can  suffer 
and  that  He  actually  suffers  from  each  of  our 
shortcomings,  as  He  rejoices  in  our  joys  and 
our  successes  (cf.  many  of  the  sayings  of  Jesus  ; 
P.  Gounelle  :  "  Le  livre  qui  vit,"  dans  Foi  et 
Vie,  1914;  Fallot:  ''Le  Dieu  masqué,"  etc.). 
We  must  humble  ourselves  for  making  HIM 
suffer  and  have  communion  in  His  suffering. 

We  ask  God  for  strength.  Remember  the 
word  addressed  to  Gideon  :  "  Go  with  the 
force  that  thou  hast  "  ;  it  surely  holds  true  for 
us  also.  We  are  strong,  but  we  ignore  the 
fact  often  voluntarily;  we  are  afraid  of  this 
strength  which  is  in  us,  for,  if  we  used  it  as 
it  should  be  used,  it  would  direct  us  perhaps 
where  we  do  not  wash  to  go.  Let  us  ask 
God  that  we  may  recognize  this  strength  and 
that  we  may  know  how  to  use  it  that  it  may 
bring  the  greatest  returns  for  Him. 

Neither  do  we  know  about  the  subconscious 
self  in  prayer,  where  it  plays,  I  believe,  a  great 


82       FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

rôle  (cf.  Rom.  8:26-31,  and,  for  the  mean- 
ing, I  Cor.  14:  1-26).  I  do  not  yet  seize  the 
real  significance  of  this  fact  very  well;  I 
merely  indicate  it  to  you. 

Pardon  me  for  not  writing  more.  I  must 
stop  in  order  to  buckle  on  my  knapsack  in 
view  of  an  immediate  departure.  But  I  was 
anxious  to  send  you  these  few  thoughts  which 
draw  us  together. 

April  30th. 

We  left  Epagny  at  8:15  to  take  the  train. 
We  were  better  off  than  formerly,  only  forty 
men  per  box  car  and  with  straw  on  the  floor. 
We  made  a  long  run  in  the  direction  of  the 
coast,  then  came  back  toward  the  interior. 

Leaving  the  train  at  9  o'clock,  we  were  piled 
into  motor-trucks.  We  were  thirty  per  car 
and  packed  like  sardines.  Absolutely  tropical 
heat  and  horribly  dusty.  The  sweat  mois- 
tened our  faces  so  that  the  dust  stuck;  then 
later  when  we  marched  the  perspiration  traced 
magnificent  marble  effects  on  the  face.  Really 
we  were  sights! 

After  25  kilometers  by  auto  we  set  ofï  on 
foot  (it  was  noon)  and  covered  a  march  of 
only  a  few  hours,  though  fatiguing  because  of 
the  heat  and  dust. 


AT  THE  FRONT  83 

Finally  we  are  quartered  near  Arras.  We 
sleep  here  tonight  in  the  open  air.  We  are 
quite  at  the  front.  Before  us  there  are  only 
the  trenches,  three  kilometers  away,  and  be- 
hind us  the  soldiers  au  repos  and  the  artillery 
which  is  firing  over  our  heads.  Our  aero- 
planes are  flying  in  every  direction  and  the 
Germans  are  cannonading  in  vain.  We  will 
go  to  the  trenches  doubtless  tomorrow. 

May  1st. 

Just  think,  this  morning  we  were  baptized 
with  fire.  Oh  !  the  baptism  was  not  very  damp 
this  time  nor  very  serious,  but  it  is  the  be- 
ginning. 

On  all  sides  we  are  surrounded  with  artil- 
lery. Already  yesterday  afternoon  the  field 
pieces  were  letting  loose,  but  at  nightfall  they 
introduced  the  great  valse.  Shells  were  fired 
from  every  side,  and  I  assure  you  we  heard 
the  shots  plainly.  And  it  lasted  like  that 
until  morning.  Then  they  grew  less  fre- 
quent; one  here,  another  there,  from  time 
to  time.  But  at  9:45  the  heavy  pieces  on 
our  right,  close  at  hand,  opened  a  fire  by 
volleys  to  which  the  Germans  lost  no  time  in 
replying. 


84      FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

As  a  matter  of  fact  at  the  moment  when 
they  had  just  served  us  la  soupe  I  heard  in 
the  air  toward  the  left,  a  noise  like  that  of  a 
locomotive  puffing  rapidly  up  a  steep  grade; 
the  sounds  were  very  short  and  close  to- 
gether. Instinctively  I  raised  my  head  to  see 
the  thing  pass  and  naturally,  nothing  doing! 
Two  seconds  later,  a  terrific  explosion.  A 
105  marmite,  it  seems,  had  burst  300  meters 
from  us  !  We  watched  the  smoke  ;  they  must 
have  been  firing  at  the  artillery. 

A  few  minutes  passed,  then  another  locomo- 
tive, much  nearer.  This  time  —  a  tableau! 
One  would  have  thought  himself  in  the  midst 
of  an  Arab  camp  at  the  hour  of  prayer,  and 
the  little  tents  added  to  the  illusion.  Subito, 
almost  all  of  the  men  fell  face  downward,  ly- 
ing flat  on  the  ground  for  the  most  part,  or 
crouched  as  low  as  possible,  or  kneeling  on 
the  ground  with  the  bodies  bent  over  double. 
For  an  instant  no  one  moved.  I  heard  a  slow, 
soft  whistling,  p-s-s-st,  then  a  dull  thud,  paf  ! 
It  was  a  shell  fragment  striking  the  tree 
against  which  I  was  leaning,  about  five  meters 
above  the  ground. 

Then  everybody  arose,  and  the  few  who  had 
remained  standing  showed  us  where  the  frag- 


AT  THE  FRONT  85 

ments  had  struck  and  where  the  shell  had 
fallen.  This  time  it  was  closer;  less  than  200 
meters  away,  it  seems.  The  firing  appears 
to  have  been  a  curtain  fire,  the  shells  falling 
with  the  regularity  of  a  scythe  stroke,  sweep- 
ing over  a  wide  space.  So  when  one  hears 
a  new  marmite  coming  along,  everybody  drops. 

But  the  blows  are  finding  our  left  again. 
Evidently  it  is  the  artillery  they  are  after,  and 
they  do  not  know  that  two  companies  are 
bivouacked  so  near.  And  so,  when  two  other 
marmites  passed  over  every  one  remained 
standing  and  went  on  calmly  eating. 

Rather  long  silence,  then,  suddenly  our 
155's  reply.  And  since  then,  the  firing  has 
never  stopped.  There  is  at  least  one  shot 
every  two  minutes,  sometimes  volleys  of  three, 
four,  and  five  in  succession. 

Otherwise  all  goes  well.  I  had  an  excel- 
lent siesta  from  one  to  two.  Now  I  have 
just  drawn  twelve  packages  of  cartridges 
which  make  me  200  "  prunes  "  in  all.  This 
evening  we  shall  no  doubt  hustle  forward  to 
relieve  the  others  in  the  trenches. 

May  2nd. 
Here  I  am  in  the  famous  trenches!     Yes- 


86      FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

terday  evening  at  8:45  they  assembled  us  in 
front  of  the  cantonment,  and,  knapsack  in 
position,  each  one  carrying  a  dish  or  a  kettle 
in  his  hand,  we  left  in  the  greatest  silence. 
The  artillery,  at  that  moment,  was  not  work- 
ing and  there  was  no  light  except  that  of  the 
rockets  hurled  abruptly  from  time  to  time  by 
the  Germans  or  ourselves,  and  the  pocket 
flashlights  of  the  officers.  It  was  truly  im- 
pressive, this  night  march  of  the  entire  bat- 
talion. 

After  having  crossed  a  destroyed  village 
we  entered  into  the  hoy  au  (communication 
trench).  Dug  out  in  the  thick  clay,  it  sufficed 
to  hide  us  completely.  As  we  approached  the 
real  trench,  the  noise  of  the  fusillade  became 
more  distinct  and  some  balls  commenced  to 
whistle  above  our  heads.  Instinctively,  one 
ducks  ! 

After  more  than  an  hour  and  a  half  of 
marching  in  the  boyau,  we  reached  the  trench 
and  relieved  the  regiment  which  was  occupy- 
ing it.  We  have  some  very  comfortable  rest 
rooms  dug  in  the  wall  of  the  trench.  There 
are  such  inscriptions  as  :  "  Attention,  danger- 
ous bend  "  ;  "  Look  out  for  women  and  chil- 
dren "  ;  '*  Carriage  road  leading  to  the  Ger- 


AT  THE  FRONT  87 

mans,  climb  the  opposite  bank  and  march 
straight  ahead  !  "  etc. 

Naturally  the  first  moments  passed  in  the 
trenches  are  quite  exciting.  On  all  sides  bul- 
lets whistle;  shells  and  bombs  pas5  over  head. 
But  one  quickly  gets  accustomed  to  it  and  by 
the  end  of  an  hour  no  longer  trembles. 

An  amusing  thing  is  the  very  diversity  of 
the  sounds  heard  in  the  trenches  :  the  German 
dry,  sharp,  vibrating  detonations;  ours,  a 
deeper  bass;  those  of  the  different  cannon, 
gatling  guns,  and  trench  mortars;  the  variety 
of  the  noises  which  the  shells  make  in  passing 
and  exploding;  the  metallic  sound  of  bullets 
striking  some  hard  objects;  the  rockets;  the 
aeroplane  motors;  and,  finally,  the  song  of 
the  larks,  for  in  the  well-started  fields  of  grain 
separating  the  trenches,  they  sing  as  if  noth- 
ing w^ere  going  on. 

You  can  not  realize  how  near  you  seem,  you 
and  mother,  and  how  delightful  that  is  to  me. 

Roclincourt,  May  3rd. 

About  9  p.  M.  yesterday,  the  — th  Company 

came  to  relieve  us,  and  now  wt  are  quartered 

in  the  village  of  Roclincourt,  or  at  least,  in 

what  remains  of  this  village.     We  are  lodging 


88      FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

in  a  house  that  has  more  windows  than  the 
architects  intended,  thanks  to  the  shells;  and 
we  are  sleeping  on  straw,  pêle-mêle  with  the 
rats  that  swarm  here. 

This  morning  I  was  sleeping  peacefully 
when  they  came  to  call  me,  as  well  as  another 
soldier,  named  D.  The  lieutenant  has  nom- 
inated us  artillerymen.  D.  is  range  finder 
and  I  am  server  for  a  cannon  of  37  mm.  which 
shoots  very  pretty  little  percussion  shells. 
The  animal  is  situated  quite  on  the  first  line, 
in  a  covered  shelter.  When  it  is  not  in  use, 
the  loophole  can  be  blocked  up  with  sand  bags. 
It  is  a  good  plan,  for  the  Germans  locate  and 
fire  well:  for  instance,  this  morning  while  we 
were  making  some  trial  shots,  several  bullets 
struck  right  beside  the  loophole. 

It  is  a  responsible  post. 

May  4th. 

There  are  many  experiences  which  I  re- 
joice in  having  at  this  hour. 

In  the  first  place,  the  experience  of  mingling 
with  men.  During  these  hours  when,  at  each 
instant,  one  is  risking  his  life,  they  show  them- 
selves exactly  as  they  are,  boasting  neither 
good    nor    evil.     All   that    is    superficial,    all 


AT  THE  FRONT  8D 

masks,  disappear,  and  the  7nan  alone  stands 
out.  Thus  one  makes  the  acquaintance  of 
souls,  under  conditions  which  doubtless  will 
never  be  found  again. 

Next  comes  the  experience  of  the  "  com- 
munion of  saints/'  At  no  moment  have  I 
felt  so  near  to  my  dear  ones  and  to  all  those 
I  love.  Never  could  I  have  believed  that,  not- 
withstanding the  distances,  we  could  be  joined 
so  closely  with  those  v/ho  are  w^ith  us  in  the 
struggle.  This  is  true  also  of  certain  friends, 
of  the  Student  Volunteers  in  particular,  and 
of  those  who  while  not  being  "  Volunteers  '* 
have  replied  also,  "  Here  am  I,  Lord,  send 
me."  And  this  brings  me  to  the  best  of  these 
three  experiences,  to  the  unique  and  marvel- 
lous experience  of  prayer. 

Do  you  not  believe  that  if  our  Monday 
morning  prayer  meetings  were  sometimes  so 
cold,  it  was  because  we  made  prayers  instead 
of  praying?     Read  again  Romans  8:26,  2yJ 

7  And  in  like  manner  the  Spirit  also  helpeth  our  in- 
firmity :  for  we  know  not  how  to  pray  as  we  ought  ; 
but  the  Spirit  himself  maketh  intercession  for  us  with 
groanings  which  cannot  be  uttered  ;  and  he  that  search- 
eth  the  hearts  knoweth  what  is  the  mind  of  the  Spirit, 
because  he  maketh  intercession  for  the  saints  accord- 
ing to  the  will  of  God. 


90      FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

These  meditations  lead  me,  moreover,  to 
Henri  Bois  whose  sane  and  human  philosophy 
I  enjoy  more  and  more. 

May  5th. 

It  seems  that  we  are  going  up  to  the  trenches 
this  evening.  I  am  not  sorry  at  the  thought 
for  there  at  least  there  is  something  doing. 
The  artillery  duel  is  going  on  over  our  heads, 
but  one  pays  no  more  attention  to  it. 

May  5th. 

Our  village  is  nearly  in  the  center  of  the 
zone  of  fire  of  the  two  artilleries.  Since  yes- 
terday afternoon  the  bombardment  has  been 
quite  violent;  but  it  is  really  nothing  as  yet, 
and  when  the  preparation  for  the  attack  com- 
mences we  shall  see  something  very  different. 

Moreover,  one  gets  quickly  accustomed  to 
all  these  noises  and  even  pays  no  more  atten- 
tion to  them,  while  the  first  days  we  ducked 
our  heads  at  each  burst  or  whistling  which 
seemed  a  little  near  ! 

You  hope  that  this  trial  will  do  me  much 
good.  Thanks.  I  already  feel  changed. 
The  abstract  being  within  me  is  gradually  dis- 
appearing. Many  realities  of  the  spiritual 
world  which  before  were  only  phantoms  have 


AT  THE  FRONT  91 

become  flesh  and  life  by  an  experience  re- 
newed at  every  instant.  I  am  learning  to 
live. 

But  a  solemn  hour  is  approaching.  To- 
morrow or  the  day  after  we  are  going  to  at- 
tack. We  must  go  up  with  fixed  bayonets,  and 
the  assault  will  be  terrible  because  it  is  no 
longer  one  trench  which  must  be  captured, 
it  is  a  question  of  several  kilometers.  If  I 
remain  up  there,  know  that  I  die  without  fear 
and  in  peace.  I  ask  only  one  thing  —  that  the 
little  strength  which  I  have  been  able  to  con- 
secrate may  in  some  measure  react  on  those 
who  have  loved  me  and  whom  I  have  loved, 
upon  all  my  companions  in  labor  and  ideals. 

May  6th. 
I  am  in  good  health  and  I  embrace  you.^ 

May  8th. 

Since  Thursday  evening  I  have  been  back 

in  the  trenches,  knowing  that  the  big  attack 

is  near  at  hand.     And  since  that  time  my  life 

has  been  one  tense  and  anxious  watching  for 

^  These  lines  were  written  upon  a  postcard.  They 
were  the  last  which  he  mailed  through  the  Quarter- 
master. 


92      FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

the  coming  hour.  But  I  am  at  peace,  I  fear 
nothing,  I  shall  be  able  to  do  my  duty  with 
the  aid  of  God. 

The  bombardment  is  becoming  more  and 
more  violent.  Today,  particularly,  the  artil- 
lery is  firing  without  a  stop  and  one  can  hear 
only  the  noise  of  the  shells.  They  whistle 
through  the  air,  on  a  level  with  the  trench,  like 
a  great  heart-rending  sob.  Then  they  explode 
over  yonder  with  a  dry  crash,  and  everything 
flies  —  earth,  wood,  and  iron.  Finally  come 
the  shell  splinters,  reaching  up  to  where  w^e  are 
and  falling  on  all  sides.  And  to  think  that  it 
is  scarcely  the  fiftieth  part  of  the  artillery  sur- 
rounding us  which  is  firing!  What  will  it  be 
like  when  all  belch  forth  at  once?  Therefore 
I  am  hopeful.  The  attack  can  not  fail  to  suc- 
ceed. There  will  be  some  wounded,  some 
killed,  but  we  shall  go  forward  and  far — ^ 


»  The   letter   was   unfinished   and   was    found   in   the 
pocket  of  his  capote  when  he  was  buried.  ■ 


iv; 

ON  THE  FIELD  OF  HONOR 


IV 

ON  THE  FIELD  OF  HONOR 

The  9th  of  May,  in  Artois,  the  general  of- 
fensive was  begun  which  ended  in  the  glori- 
ous capture  of  Neuville  St.  Vaast,  of  the  Laby- 
rinth, of  Carency,  and  of  other  places,  whose 
names  will  remain  engraved  on  the  hearts  of 
many  a  French  father  and  mother. 

Exactly  at  ten  o'clock,  certain  companies  of 
the  — th  battalion  left  the  trenches  of  Roclin- 
court.  Some  seconds  later,  running  by  the 
side  of  his  lieutenant  in  a  bayonet  charge,  the 
young  soldier  fell,  never  to  rise  again.  How 
fully  he  was  prepared,  under  the  watchful  eye 
of  God,  to  face  this  supreme  hour  without  fear, 
is  plain  enough  from  his  letters. 

Others  have  informed  us  as  to  how  he  per- 
formed his  duty  and  gave  his  life.  Let  them 
tell  the  story. 

Letter  from  Major  Ch.  Schmiickel 

May  i2th,  1915. 
I  had  charged  your  dear  son  to  tell  you  that 
I  welcomed  him  into  the  battalion  with  joy; 

95 


96      FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

and  several  times  we  have  had  the  opportunity 
of  praying  together.  I  was  not  slow  to  ap- 
preciate all  that  this  modest  youth  held  in  re- 
serve: his  kindness,  his  calm,  his  quiet  cour- 
age, his  intellectual  and  moral  value. 

When  we  attacked,  May  9th,  two  or  three 
times,  alas  without  result,  with  a  number  of 
other  obscure  heroes  he  fell  or  at  least  dis- 
appeared. Is  he  a  prisoner,  has  he  been 
killed,  or  else  wounded  and  picked  up  by  some 
ambulance  ?  Alas  !  I  can  give  you  no  cer- 
tain information.  I  immediately  had  a  search 
made  for  him,  but  have  had  no  news  of  him, 
and  any  supposition  is  permissible. 

I  did  not  write  you  sooner  because  I  wished 
to  know  something  definite.  All  that  I  can 
write  you  now  is  that  we  have  not  been  able  to 
bury  him,  and  that  a  shadow  of  hope  remains. 
Our  beloved  battalion,  already  mentioned  a 
Vordre  de  l'armée  has  heroically  and  dearly 
paid  its  debt.  As  a  friend,  as  a  relative,  as  a 
leader,  I  mourn  for  all  my  dear  soldier  boys 
but  especially  for  yours,  who  had  prayed  with 
me  on  the  eve  of  the  battle. 

Yours,  sorrowfully  moved, 

Ch.  Schmuckel, 


ON  THE  FIELD  OF  HONOR  97 

P.S.  A  comrade,  charged  with  the  search  for 
the  missing,  again  comes  back  and  still  with- 
out news.  In  any  event  you  may  have  this 
consolation  —  the  comrades  of  your  dear  son 
went  into  the  attack  with  an  enthusiasm  which 
won  for  us  the  thanks  of  the  Colonel  com- 
manding the  brigade,  and  they  charged  hero- 
ically against  all  odds,  against  an  enemy 
formidably  entrenched,  which  it  w^as  neces- 
sary to  hold  back  at  any  price  in  order  to  win 
the  success  you  have  heard  of.  Three  times 
we  wxnt  forward  for  the  sake  of  Honor  and 
our  Patrie! 

Three  days  after  he  wrote  to  us  the  Major, 
himself,  luas  killed  by  a  shell  in  the  trenches. 
We  were  informed  of  it  by  a  letter  from  a 
comrade  of  our  son.  His  message  showed  us 
that  there  zvas  no  longer  ground  for  cherish- 
ing the  faint  hope  which  the  uncertainty  of 
earlier  news  had  authorized  us;  and  that  our 
child  woidd  return  to  the  family  hearth  no 
more. 

Here  is  the  soldier^ s  letter.  It  merits  a  place 
beside  that  of  the  glorious  officer.  Together 
they  suggest  this  thought — -such  leaders  are 


98      FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

worthy  to  command  such  men.  France  links 
them  together  in  a  common  and  devout  grati- 
tude. 

Letter  from  Mr.  H.  R. 

Roclincourt,  May  17th. 

Major  Schmuckel  was  killed  two  days  ago 
and  I  do  not  know  if  his  death  coming  so 
quickly  did  not  prevent  him  from  informing 
you  of  some  sad  news,  news  for  which  you 
have  needed  or  will  need  all  your  courage  and 
all  your  confidence  in  the  beyond,  so  painful 
and  cruel  will  it  be  to  you.  I  am  sure  that, 
God  helping,  you  will  bear  it,  seeing  there  only 
a  trial  —  alas,  how  sad  !  —  coming  from  Him 
who  is  the  Master  of  all. 

Alfred  Casalis,  your  son  and  my  friend,  is 
dead.  On  the  morning  of  May  9th,  he  dashed 
courageously  forward  in  the  attack  on  the 
German  trenches,  and  the  bullets  which  do  not 
choose  between  the  good  and  the  bad  brutally 
mowed  him  down. 

Since  entering  the  instruction  camp  of  Cas- 
telsarrasin,  we  had  never  left  each  other's  com- 
pany, and  I  believed  that  we  were  going  to 
fight  together.  Because  of  his  change  to  the 
— th  Battalion  I  was  not  with  him  when  he 


ON  THE  FIELD  OF  HONOR  ÔÔ 

died.  When  I  learned  of  his  glorious  death 
I  was  starting  for  the  trenches,  and  so  it  was 
impossible  for  me  to  make  inquiries  about  him. 
On  coming  back  ait  rcpos  I  endeavored  to  find 
out  W'hat  had  become  of  Alfred's  body.  It 
w^as  only  yesterday  I  learned  that  it  had  been 
placed  in  a  common  grave  dug  on  the  battle- 
field near  the  place  where  he  fell. 

Today  I  went  to  recite  a  prayer  over  the 
grave  of  this  dear  fallen  friend.  He  is  buried 
near  the  village  of  Roclincourt  within  the  town- 
ship of  that  name.  His  memory  will  remain 
engraved  in  my  heart  as  that  of  a  comrade  and 
sincere  affectionate  friend.  I  am  a  Catholic, 
he  was  a  Protestant,  and  this  difference  of  re- 
ligious opinion  in  no  way  interfered  with  the 
bonds  of  friendship  which  were  drawing  us 
closer  together  every  day. 

Lonely  as  I  w^as  when  he  left  the  scjuad  to 
which  we  both  had  been  assigned,  the  loneli- 
ness which  I  experience  now  that  he  is  no 
longer  is  infinitely  greater.  Would  that  my 
grief  might  lessen  yours,  that  of  his  beloved 
mother,  and  of  all  his  other  relatives. 

While  waiting  the  hour  of  victory  which 
he  will  see  from  the  heights  of  a  better  world, 
an  hour  which  unhappily  will  not  strike  before 


lÔO       FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

having  plunged  many  families  into  mourning, 
accept,  dear  Sir,  once  more  the  assurance  of 
my  very  sincere  participation  in  your  terrible 
sorrow. 

You  who  more  than  I  speak  with  God,  be- 
cause of  your  vocation  and  ministry,  pray  for 
France   and  her  children. 

H.  R. 

On  the  same  day  the  pastor,  Benoit-Bergis, 
Chaplain  of  the  Army  Corps,  sent  us  this  mes- 
sage : 

"  The  eve  of  the  day  when  he  had  to  ad- 
vance to  the  attack,  instructed  of  the  dangers 
he  was  going  to  run,  your  son  had  prayed  with 
his  Major  and  some  others  of  his  battalion. 
He  asked  God  to  guard  them  amidst  the  shot 
and  shell  and  in  the  heat  of  action. 

"  His  prayer  was  heard  otherwise  than  we 
could  have  desired;  but  may  the  faith  which 
sustained  him  up  to  the  end  help  you  to  endure 
without  a  murmur  the  will  of  our  Heavenly 
Friend.  And  may  so  many  sacrifices  willingly 
offered  and  so  many  tears  poured  out  for  her 
render  us  still  more  devoted  to  our  dear 
Patrie/' 


ON  THE  FIELD  OF  HONOR         101 

One  last  comforting  certainty  was  granted 
lis:  our  child  had  not  remained,  as  we  at  first 
had  feared,  for  long  hours  and  perhaps  days 
in  agony  on  the  battlefield.  The  machine  guns 
had  mowed  him  down  in  full  charge,  and  death 
was  instantaneous. 

When,  at  the  price  of  great  efforts,  the 
bodies  could  be  brought  back  and  devoutly 
buried,  they  found  in  the  pocket  of  his  great- 
coat his  will,  written  in  a  firm  hand  four  days 
before  the  attack.     It  concludes  as  follows: 

"  Know  that  at  the  moment  of  departure, 
looking  steadfastly  within,  I  believe  that  I  can 
say  without  arrogance  and  also  without  false 
shame,  that  '  I  have  fought  the  good  fight,  I 
have  finished  the  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith  ' 
and  I  would  that  all  my  friends,  all  those  who 
are  every  moment  with  me  and  whose  hearts 
beat  with  mine,  could  repeat  the  word  of  our 
hope  :  '  Because  I  live,  ye  shall  live  also.'  " 

A.  E.  Casalis. 

RocUncourt,  May  5,  1915- 

Thus  ended  his  short  life  upon  this  earth. 
But  the  impulse  which  carried  him  forward  to 
the  attack  was  not  broken  by  the  bullet  which 


1Ô2     FOR  FRANCE  AND  THE  FAITH 

laid  his  body  low.     He  continued  his  course, 
the  soldier  hoy,  and  went  onivard  into   the 
Paradise    of    God    where    he    achieved    his 
''  Marche  à  l'Etoile^ 
Paris,  January  15,  1916. 


THE    END 


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